Major
Pharm.D. (six years)
Advisor
Slitt, Angela
Advisor Department
Pharmacy Practice (PHP)
Date
5-2017
Keywords
Perfluorochemicals; NAFLD; NASH; liver; perfluorohexane-sulfonate
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Abstract
Perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) has been used in products as surfactants[AS1] . These products include fluoropolymers and as protective and water-resistant coatings to different materials such as carpets, paper, and textiles. Also, evidence of PFHxS exposure has been reported in firefighters who use certain film forming foams. Current investigations have shown widespread exposure to PFHxS in the environment, specifically in drinking water. There has also been evidence of PFHxS accumulation in humans, with a half-life lasting several years.
PFHxS is one of several perfluoronated alkyl substances (PFAS). Other PFASs are considered to be hepatotoxic in rodents and potentially in humans. Studies of similar PFASs, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) have reported the induction of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with evidence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), when fed along with a high-fat diet in rodent models. For this experiment the hypothesis is that the addition of PFHxS to a high fat and high fructose diet will exacerbate the effects of the diet alone on the development of NASH and NAFLD.
For this study, we fed male mice with a standard diet or a diet rich in fructose and fat. Mice were further divided into subgroups that were controls or received PFHxS in diet. This study shows the relation PFHxS exposure to the development of NASH in an individual who has a diet rich in fat and fructose, and raises concerns of other environmental toxicants and their effects on human health.