Lipid responses to environmental perfluoroalkyl substance exposure in a Taiwanese Child cohort

Sheng-Han Lee; Wei-Chen Tseng; Zhi-Yi Du; Wan-Yu Lin; Mei-Huei Chen; Ching-Chun Lin; Guang-Wen Lien; Hao-Jan Liang; Hui-Ju Wen; Yue-Leon Guo; Pau-Chung Chen; Ching-Yu Lin

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117007

Lipid responses to environmental perfluoroalkyl substance exposure in a Taiwanese Child cohort

Environ Pollut. 2021 Aug 15:283:117007. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117007. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan; Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.
⁵ Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.
⁶ Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Office of Occupational Safety and Health, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Innovation and Policy Center for Population Health and Sustainable Environment, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁷ Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: chingyulin@ntu.edu.tw.

PMID: 33845286
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117007

Abstract

Although recent epidemiologic studies have focused on some of the health effects of perfluoroalkyl substance (PFASs) exposure in humans, the associations between PFASs exposure and the lipidome in children are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess lipid changes in children to understand possible molecular events of environmental PFASs exposure and suggest potential health effects. A total of 290 Taiwanese children (8-10 years old) were included in this study. Thirteen PFASs were analyzed in their serum by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS). MS-based lipidomic approaches were applied to examine lipid patterns in the serum of children exposed to different levels of PFASs. LC coupling with triple quadrupole MS technology was conducted to analyze phosphorylcholine-containing lipids. Multivariate analyses, such as partial least squares analysis along with univariate analyses, including multiple linear regression, were used to analyze associations between s exposure and unique lipid patterns. Our results showed that different lipid patterns were discovered in children exposed to different levels of specific PFASs, such as PFTrDA, PFOS, and PFDA. These changes in lipid levels may be involved in hepatic lipid metabolism, metabolic disorders, and PFASs-membrane interactions. This study showed that lipidomics is a powerful approach to identify critical PFASs that cause metabolite perturbation in the serum of children and suggest possible adverse health effects of these chemicals in children.

Keywords: Children; Lipidomics; Mass spectrometry; Perfluoroalkyl substances; Serum.

MeSH terms

Alkanesulfonic Acids*
Child
Environmental Exposure
Environmental Pollutants* / analysis
Fluorocarbons*
Humans
Lipids

Substances

Alkanesulfonic Acids
Environmental Pollutants
Fluorocarbons
Lipids