Profiles and transplacental transfer of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in maternal and umbilical cord blood: A birth cohort study in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China

Liangpo Liu; Peixia Yan; Xuan Liu; Junxia Zhao; Meiping Tian; Qingyu Huang; Jianbo Yan; Zhendong Tong; Yongli Zhang; Jie Zhang; Tongjie Zhang; Jianquan Guo; Guiying Liu; Xia Bian; Ben Li; Tong Wang; Heng Wang; Heqing Shen

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133501

Profiles and transplacental transfer of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in maternal and umbilical cord blood: A birth cohort study in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China

J Hazard Mater. 2024 Mar 15:466:133501. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133501. Epub 2024 Jan 13.

Authors

Liangpo Liu¹, Peixia Yan², Xuan Liu³, Junxia Zhao³, Meiping Tian⁴, Qingyu Huang⁴, Jianbo Yan⁵, Zhendong Tong⁵, Yongli Zhang⁵, Jie Zhang⁶, Tongjie Zhang⁷, Jianquan Guo³, Guiying Liu³, Xia Bian³, Ben Li³, Tong Wang³, Heng Wang⁵, Heqing Shen⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health Laboratory Sciences, School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, PR China; Key Laboratory of Coal Environmental Pathogenicity and Prevention (Shanxi Medical University), Ministry of Education, 030001, PR China.
² Department of Public Health Laboratory Sciences, School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, PR China; Changping District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changping, Beijing, 102200, PR China.
³ Department of Public Health Laboratory Sciences, School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, PR China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, PR China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Health Risk Factors for Seafood of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, 316021, PR China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Vaccine Development, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361002, China.
⁷ Daishan County Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Daishan, Zhejiang 316200, PR China.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Vaccine Development, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361002, China. Electronic address: hqshen@xmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38246060
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133501

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can pass through the placental barrier and pose health risks to fetuses. However, exposure and transplacental transfer patterns of emerging PFAS remain unclear. Here, 24 PFAS were measured in paired maternal whole blood (n = 228), umbilical cord whole blood (n = 119) and serum (n = 120). Orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was used to differentiate PFAS between different matrices. The transplacental transfer (TPT) of PFAS was calculated using cord to maternal whole blood concentration ratios. PFOS and PFOA were still the dominant PFAS in maternal samples. The emerging PFAS had higher TPT than PFOS and PFOA. Moreover, PFAS with the same chain length but different functional groups and C-F bonds showed different TPT, such as PFOS and PFOSA (C8, median: 0.090 vs. 0.305, p < 0.05) and PFHxS and 4:2 FTS (C6, median: 0.220 vs. 1.190, p < 0.05). A significant sex difference in 4:2 FTS (median: boys 1.250, girls 1.010, p < 0.05) were found. Furthermore, we observed a significant U-shaped trend for the TPT of carboxylates with increasing carbon chain length. PFAS showed a compound-specific transfer through placental barrier and a compound-specific distribution between different matrices in this study.

Keywords: Emerging PFAS; Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; Prenatal exposure; Transplacental transfer.

MeSH terms

Alkanesulfonic Acids* / analysis
China
Cohort Studies
Environmental Pollutants* / analysis
Female
Fetal Blood / chemistry
Fluorocarbons* / analysis
Humans
Male
Placenta
Pregnancy

Substances

fluorotelomer sulfonic acids
Fluorocarbons
Alkanesulfonic Acids
Environmental Pollutants