Prenatal and perinatal exposure to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-contaminated drinking water impacts offspring neurobehavior and development.

Marchese, Melissa J

Zhu, Tianyi

Hawkey, Andrew B

Wang, Katherine

Yuan, Emi

Wen, Jinchen

Be, Sara E

Levin, Edward D

Feng, Liping

2024-05-01T13:29:41Z

2024-05-01T13:29:41Z

2024-03

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent organic pollutants ubiquitous in the environment and humans. In-utero PFAS exposure is associated with numerous adverse health impacts. However, little is known about how prenatal PFAS mixture exposure affects offspring's neurobehavioral function. This study aims to determine the causal relationship between in-utero PFAS mixture exposure and neurobehavioral changes in Sprague-Dawley rat offspring. Dams were exposed via drinking water to the vehicle (control), an environmentally relevant PFAS mixture, or a high-dose PFAS mixture. The environmentally relevant mixture was formulated to resemble measured tap water levels in Pittsboro, NC, USA (10 PFAS compounds; sum PFAS =758.6 ng/L). The high-dose PFAS load was 3.8 mg/L (5000×), within the range of exposures in the experimental literature. Exposure occurred seven days before mating until birth. Following exposure to PFAS-laden water or the vehicle during fetal development, neurobehavioral toxicity was assessed in male and female offspring with a battery of motor, cognitive, and affective function tests as juveniles, adolescents, and adults. Just before weaning, the environmentally relevant exposure group had smaller anogenital distances compared to the vehicle and high-dose groups on day 17, and males in the environmentally relevant exposure group demonstrated lower weights than the high-dose group on day 21 (p < 0.05). Reflex development delays were seen in negative geotaxis acquisition for both exposure groups compared to vehicle-exposed controls (p = 0.009). Our post-weaning behavioral measures of anxiety, depression, and memory were not found to be affected by maternal PFAS exposure. In adolescence (week five) and adulthood (week eight), the high PFAS dose significantly attenuated typical sex differences in locomotor activity. Maternal exposure to an environmentally relevant PFAS mixture produced developmental delays in the domains of pup weight, anogenital distance, and reflex acquisition for rat offspring. The high-dose PFAS exposure significantly decreased typical sex differences in locomotor activity.

S0048-9697(24)00596-5

0048-9697

1879-1026

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/30649

eng

Elsevier BV

The Science of the total environment

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170459

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0

Animals

Humans

Rats

Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects

Alkanesulfonic Acids

Fluorocarbons

Reproduction

Pregnancy

Adolescent

Female

Male

Drinking Water

Prenatal and perinatal exposure to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-contaminated drinking water impacts offspring neurobehavior and development.

Journal article

Levin, Edward D|0000-0001-7292-8084|0000-0002-5060-9602

Feng, Liping|0000-0002-2936-7397

170459

Duke

Nicholas School of the Environment

School of Medicine

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Basic Science Departments

Clinical Science Departments

Institutes and Centers

Pharmacology & Cancer Biology

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Pathology

Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Duke Cancer Institute

Psychology & Neuroscience

Environmental Sciences and Policy

University Initiatives & Academic Support Units

University Institutes and Centers

Duke Global Health Institute

Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Initiatives

Duke Science & Society

Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neurosciences

Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences

Published

917