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Previous studies suggested that perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) could activate the estrogen receptor (ER). The present study examined the hypothesis that PFOA can activate ER using an in vivo uterotrophic assay in CD-1 mice and an in vitro reporter assay. Pre-pubertal female CD-1 mice fed an estrogen-free diet from postnatal day (PND)14 through weaning on PND18 were administered 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, or 1 mg/kg PFOA or 17β-estradiol (E 2 , 0.5 mg/kg) from PND18–20. In contrast to E 2 , PFOA caused no changes in the relative uterine weight, the expression of ER target genes, or the morphology of the uterus/cervix and/or vagina on PND21. Treatment of a stable human cell line containing an ER-dependent luciferase reporter construct with a broad concentration range of PFOA caused no change in ER-dependent luciferase activity; whereas E 2 caused a marked increase of ER-dependent luciferase activity. These data indicate that PFOA does not activate mouse or human ER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In order to assess the potential chronic toxicity and tumorigenicity of ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO), a 2-year dietary study was conducted with male and female rats fed 30ppm or 300ppm (approximately 1.5 and 15mg/kg). In males fed 300ppm, mean body weights were lower across most of the test period and survival in these rats was greater than that seen either in the 30ppm or the control group. Non-neoplastic effects were observed in liver in rats fed 300ppm and included elevated liver weight, an increase in the incidence of diffuse hepatocellular hypertrophy, portal mononuclear cell infiltration, and mild hepatocellular vacuolation without an increase in hepatocellular necrosis. Mean serum activities of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase were elevated up to three times the control means, primarily at the 300ppm dose. A significant increase in Leydig cell tumors of the testes was seen in the males fed 300ppm, and tumors of the liver and acinar pancreas, which are often observed in rats from chronic exposure to peroxisome proliferating agents, were not observed in this study. All other tumor types were those seen spontaneously in rats of this stock and age and were not associated with feeding of APFO. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Having found previously that high-dose, short-term dietary exposure of mice to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) or perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) suppresses adaptive immunity, in the present study we characterize the effects of these fluorochemicals on the innate immune system. Male C57BL/6 mice receiving 0.02% (w/w) PFOS or PFOA in their diet for 10 days exhibited a significant reduction in the numbers of total white blood cells (WBC), involving lymphopenia in both cases, but neutropenia only in response to treatment with PFOA. Moreover, both compounds also markedly reduced the number of macrophages (CD11b+ cells) in the bone marrow, but not in the spleen or peritoneal cavity. The ex vivo production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) by peritoneal macrophages isolated from animals treated with PFOA or PFOS was increased modestly. Moreover, both fluorochemicals markedly enhanced the ex vivo production of these same cytokines by peritoneal and bone marrow macrophages stimulated either in vitro or in vivo with lipopolysaccharide (LPS); whereas there was no such effect on splenic macrophages. The serum levels of these inflammatory cytokines observed in response to in vivo stimulation with LPS were elevated substantially by prior exposure to PFOA, but not by PFOS. None of these parameters of innate immunity were altered in animals receiving a dietary dose of these compounds that was 20-fold lower (0.001%, w/w). These findings reveal that in addition to suppressing adaptive immunity, high-dose, short-term exposure of mice to either PFOS or PFOA augments inflammatory responses to LPS, a potent activator of innate immunity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We have previously shown that short-term, high-dose exposure of mice to the environmentally persistent perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) results in thymic and splenic atrophy and the attenuation of specific humoral immune responses. Here we characterize the effects of a 10-day treatment with different dietary doses (1–0.001%, w/w) of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), a similar fluorochemical, on the immune system of male C57BL/6 mice. At doses greater than 0.02%, PFOS induced clinical signs of toxicity in the animals, whereas at the concentration of 0.02%, this compound caused weight loss, hepatomegaly and atrophy of the thymus, spleen and adipose tissue without toxicity. With this latter dose, histopathological and flow-cytometric analysis revealed that (i) the thymic cortex was virtually depleted of cells; (ii) the total numbers of thymocytes and splenocytes were reduced by 84 and 43%, respectively; (iii) although all populations of thymocytes and splenocytes were smaller, the thymic CD4+CD8+ cells and the splenic B-lymphocytes were most decreased. These alterations resembled those evoked by analogous exposure to PFOA, but were less pronounced. At lower doses (less than 0.02%), PFOS induced hepatomegaly without affecting the thymus or spleen. Finally, comparison of male wild-type 129/Sv mice and the corresponding knock-outs lacking peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα) indicated that these effects of PFOS are not strain-dependent. More importantly, hepatomegaly is independent of PPARα, the thymic changes are partially dependent on this receptor, and splenic responses are largely eliminated in its absence. Thus, immunomodulation caused by PFOS is a high-dose phenomenon partially dependent on PPARα. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) compounds associated with surface protection product manufactures are distributed globally. The 3–5-year half-lives, reproductive and liver toxicity in animals, and lack of understanding of the factors regulating retention in the body have led to a world-wide public concern for use of these materials. Using a novel physiologically-motivated pharmacokinetic model for renal clearance, perfluoroalkylacid pharmacokinetics in monkeys was successfully described by renal resorption via high efficiency transporters for both intravenous and oral dosing. Intravenous dosing with both PFOA and PFOS in Cynomolgus monkeys produced time course curves consistent with a two-compartment distribution. Extending the PK model for intravenous dosing to examine blood and urine time course data for repeated oral dosing clearly identified the saturable renal resorption. Resorption depends on kinetic factors for transport (T mC, transport maximum; K T, transport affinity) and free fraction in plasma (f plasma). For PFOA, these parameters were estimated to be 5mg/(hkg) (T mC), 0.055mg/L (K T), and 0.02 (f plasma). PFOS has longer half-life and had respective values of 13.6mg/(hkg), 0.023mg/L, and 0.025. PFOS appeared to have a higher transport capacity and lower affinity than PFOA. Human kinetics indicates even higher resorption efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The relationship between age and plasma concentration of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in young rats was investigated. The study was conducted in two phases in which male and female rats between 3 and 8 weeks of age were administered the ammonium salt of PFOA (APFO) by single oral gavage at either 10 or 30mg/kg. In Phase I, APFO was administered at a dose of 10mg/kg body weight to 27-, 34-, 38-, 48-, and 55-day-old male and female rats. Plasma was collected 24h after the dose. In Phase II, APFO doses of either 10 or 30mg/kg body weight were given to groups of 23-, 30-, and 32-day-old male and female rats, and plasma was collected at 2 and 24h after the dose (separate groups), and urine was collected for 24h. PFOA concentrations were measured by LC/MS/MS. In Phase I, plasma concentrations of PFOA were not dependent on age for rats 5 weeks of age and older; however, in 4-week-old rats, male plasma PFOA concentrations were 5–6 times lower than during weeks 5–8, and female plasma PFOA concentrations were 2.5–4 times higher than subsequent weeks. In Phase II, plasma samples collected 2h post-dosing indicated no significant difference in the PFOA uptake by age in females; although, in males, plasma PFOA concentrations were significantly less in 32-day-old rats, approximating one-half of the values observed at 23 and 30 days of age. Plasma samples collected 24h after dosing from 3- to 5-week-old rats indicated a slightly but significantly higher male plasma concentration at 30 and 32 days of age as compared to 23 days of age for the 30mg/kg dose group only. Significantly lower (approximately 10-fold) plasma PFOA concentrations occurred in 32-day-old females as compared with 23- and 30-day-old females at both 2 and 24h after the dose. Although statistically significant changes in urine PFOA concentrations did not occur between age and dose groups within sex, urine PFOA concentrations generally supported plasma elimination. At 23 days of age, the ratio of male to female plasma PFOA concentrations was approximately 2–3:1 compared to approximately 30:1 at 32 days of age. An unexplainable inconsistency in PFOA plasma concentrations for both sexes was noted when comparing Phase I values for 27-day-old rats to Phase II values for 23- and 30-day-old rats. The Phase I values for the 27-day-old rats of both sexes were five to six times lower than Phase II values for the 23- and 30-day-old rats. However, Phase I values for 34-day-old rats were comparable to Phase II values for 32-day-old rats. Despite this anomaly between the 23-, 27-, and 30-day-old rat values, there is strong evidence that age-dependent changes in the elimination of PFOA develop in female rats between 3 and 5 weeks of age, with a consistent marked difference occurring after 30 days of age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study was conducted to develop a quantitative understanding of the potential for gestational and lactational transfer of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in the rat. Time-mated female rats were dosed by oral gavage once daily at concentrations of 3, 10, or 30mg/kg/day of the ammonium salt of PFOA (APFO) starting on gestation (G) day 4 and continuing until sacrifice. On days 10, 15, and 21G, five rats per dose level were sacrificed and blood samples were collected 2h post-dose. Embryos were collected on day 10G, amniotic fluid, placentas, and embryos/fetuses were collected on days 15 and 21G, and fetal blood samples were collected on day 21G. Five rats per dose level were allowed to deliver and nurse their litters, and on days 3, 7, 14, and 21 post-partum (PP) milk and blood samples of maternal and pup were collected 2h post-dose. All samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS) for PFOA concentration. Concentrations of PFOA in maternal plasma and milk attained steady state during the sampling interval. The steady-state concentrations in maternal plasma were 10–15, 25–30, and 60–75μg/mL in rats receiving 3, 10, and 30mg/kg, respectively. Steady-state concentrations in milk were approximately 10 times less than those in maternal plasma. The concentration of PFOA in fetal plasma on day 21G was approximately half the steady-state concentration in maternal plasma. The milk concentrations appeared to be generally comparable to the concentrations in pup plasma. Pup plasma concentrations decreased from day 3PP to day 7PP, and were similar on days 7, 14, and 21PP at all dose levels. PFOA was detected in placenta (days 15 and 21G), amniotic fluid (days 15 and 21G), embryo (days 10 and 15G), and fetus (day 21G). These pharmacokinetics allow estimation of the dose to developing and nursing rat offspring following maternal exposure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Liver-fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) is an abundant intracellular lipid-carrier protein. The hypothesis that perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and certain related perfluorooctanesulfonamide-based fluorochemicals (PFOSAs) can interfere with the binding affinity of L-FABP for fatty acids was tested. The relative effectiveness of PFOA, PFOS, N-ethylperfluorooctanesulfonamide (N-EtFOSA), N-ethylperfluorooctanesulfonamido ethanol (N-EtFOSE), and of the strong peroxisome proliferator Wyeth-14 643 (WY) to inhibit 11-(5-dimethylaminonapthalenesulphonyl)-undecanoic acid (DAUDA) binding to-L-FABP was determined. The dissociation constant (Kd) of the DAUDA-L-FABP complex was 0.47 nM. PFOS exhibited the highest level of inhibition of DAUDA-L-FABP binding in the competitive binding assays, followed by N-EtFOSA, WY, and, with equal IC50s, N-EtFOSE and PFOA. The in vitro data presented in this study support the hypothesis that these fluorochemicals may interfere with the binding of fatty acids or other endogenous ligands to L-FABP. Furthermore, this work provides evidence to support the hypothesis that displacement of endogenous ligands from L-FABP may contribute to toxicity in rodents fed these fluorochemicals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]