The effect of in-utero-through-postnatal exposure of mice to perfluorinated compounds on airway inflammation and function

• Main Author: Ryu, Min Hyung
• Other Authors: Halayko, Andrew (Physiology and Pathophysiology)
• Published: The American Physiological Society 2015
• Subjects: airway hyperresponsiveness; perfluorinated compounds; environmental pollution; airway inflammation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/30195

Perfluorinated compounds, non-degradable xenobiotics in many consumer products, can cause developmental toxicity in animals, and human exposure is associated with asthma symptoms. We tested the hypothesis that sustained chronic exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH) or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) induces lung dysfunction that exacerbates allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and inflammation. Mice were exposed to the chemicals from early gestation day to adulthood. Some pups were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin. Serum PFOA was analyzed by liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry. Lung function was measured using a small animal ventilator. We assayed inflammatory cells in the lung, performed PCR for lung cytokines, and examined bronchial goblet cell hyperplasia by histology. Here we show that either PFOA or FTOH exposure can induce AHR, but neither one predisposes for exaggerated allergic lung inflammation or AHR. FTOH or PFOS exposure appears to suppress allergic lung inflammation, but does not affect allergic lung dysfunction.