Combined effects of mixed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on the Nrf2-ARE pathway in ARE reporter-HepG2 cells

Although the Nrf2-ARE pathway plays a critical role in cellular protection against toxicity and oxidative stress from environmental chemical stressors, the association between exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mixtures and the changes of Nrf2-ARE pathway remains largely unexplor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hazardous materials 2022-01, Vol.421, p.126827-126827, Article 126827
Main Authors: Ojo, Atinuke F., Peng, Cheng, Ng, Jack C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cellular defense mechanism
Concentration addition
Inducer
Mixture toxicity
Risk Assessment
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Summary:Although the Nrf2-ARE pathway plays a critical role in cellular protection against toxicity and oxidative stress from environmental chemical stressors, the association between exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mixtures and the changes of Nrf2-ARE pathway remains largely unexplored. This study evaluated the potential of PFAS to induce the Nrf2-ARE pathway as individual compounds and as binary, ternary, and multicomponent mixtures in the ARE reporter-HepG2 cells and compared the mixture toxicity data to the predictions by concentration addition (CA) model. The toxicological interactions between PFAS mixture components were also determined by the model deviation ratio (MDR) between the CA predicted and mixture toxicity values. The induction of the Nrf2-ARE pathway was quantified using the luciferase system, and the endpoint assessed was the concentration that induced an induction ratio (IR) of 1.5 (ECIR1.5). The results showed that exposures to both individual and mixed PFAS induced the Nrf2-ARE pathway in ARE reporter-HepG2 cells. Based on the MDRs, the combinations with PFOS showed synergistic interactive effects, while the combinations with PFOA showed additive effects. These results indicate that the CA model underestimated the mixture toxicity of PFAS with PFOS co-exposures and may have health risk assessment implications. [Display omitted] •Potential inducing effects of mixed PFAS on the Nrf2-ARE pathway were determined.•Inducing effects of individual PFAS increased as the carbon length increases.•The combinations with PFOS showed higher inducing effects than those with PFOA.•CA model may underestimate the mixture toxicity of PFAS with PFOS co-exposures.•Nrf2-ARE modulation may serve as a rapid screening tool for toxicity testing of PFAS.
ISSN:0304-3894
1873-3336
DOI:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126827