US EPA

6326326 

Journal Article 

Cytotoxicity of perfluorodecanoic acid on mouse primary nephrocytes through oxidative stress: Combined analysis at cellular and molecular levels 

Gao, S; Jing, M; Xu, M; Han, D; Niu, Q; Liu, R 

2020 

Yes 

Journal of Hazardous Materials
ISSN: 0304-3894
EISSN: 1873-3336 

Elsevier B.V. 

AMSTERDAM 

393 

122444 

English 

32169814 

10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122444 

WOS:000532829200093 

Long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) such as perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) are toxic, persistent organic pollutants. This study investigated the harmful effect of PFDA on mouse primary nephrocytes and its mechanism at cellular and molecular levels. Cellular results showed that PFDA exhibited nephrotoxicity with decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis. The increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and the decrease of intracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were significant (p < 0.01) when PFDA concentration exceeded 10 μM. Additionally, the molecular results indicated that PFDA bind with Val-A98 in the surface of Cu/Zn-SOD by a 3.11 Å hydrogen bond driven by Van der Waals' force and hydrogen bonding force, which triggered the structural changes and decreased activity of Cu/Zn-SOD. Altogether, the intracellular oxidative stress is the main driver of nephrocyte apoptosis; and the interaction of PFDA and Cu/Zn-SOD exacerbated the oxidative stress in nephrocytes, which is also a nonnegligible reason of cytotoxicity induced by PDFA. This study represented a meaningful method to explore the toxic effect and mechanism of xenobiotics at cellular and molecular levels. The findings have implications for revealing the clearance of long-chain PFAAs in vivo. 

Perfluorodecanoic acid; Nephrotoxicity; Oxidative stress; Superoxide dismutase