Perfluoroalkyl compounds, including PFOA, have been identified as new environmental pollutants. However, the biological effects of PFOA have not been well understood. This motivated us to seek the biological effects of PFOA, including the mechanism responsible for the effects in animals. In this study, male rats were exposed by daily gavage to 1, 3, 5, 10, or 15 mg PFOA/kg of body weight (bw)/day for 21 days. At the end of the exposure, the liver was isolated, and the total liver RNA was used for gene chip analysis. Over 500 genes, whose expression was significantly (p < 0.0025) altered by PFOA in two-fold changes compared to the control, were examined. The largest categories of induced genes were those involved in the transport and metabolism of lipids, particularly fatty acids. Several clinical parameters which were related to fatty acid metabolism were significantly decreased in PFOA-exposed animals compared to those in the controls. PFOA enhanced both peroxisomal and mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation, and the peroxisomal β-oxidation may have created oxidative stress in animals exposed to PFOA.
(Safety Research Team, TEL +81-28-838-7822)
Reference:
Guruge et al. (2006) Toxicol. Sci. 81 : 93-107.
