Perfluoroalkyl substances exposure and immunity, allergic response, infection, and asthma in children: review of epidemiologic studies

Abstract

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Emerging and legacy PFAS and cytokine homeostasis in women of childbearing age

“…Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic compounds that have been used in many industrial and consumer applications for over 70 years because of their high thermal and chemical stability 1 . Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are two of the most studied long-chain PFAS, and are reported to induce adverse effects on human, including immunotoxicity 2 , carcinogenicity 3 , and reproductive and developmental toxicity 4 . Due to their persistence in the environment and potential health implications in humans, PFOS and PFOA production and applications have been restricted in Europe and North America 5 , 6 .…”

Translatability and transferability of in silico models: Context of use switching to predict the effects of environmental chemicals on the immune system

“…Based on published data, and the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of PFAS-induced immunotoxicity, it was possible to feed the model with immunological parameters altered by PFOA or PFAS, and in return, the model was able to correctly predict the reduced antibody production observed in humans. Several studies document that PFAS exposure is associated with suppression in at least one measure of the anti-vaccine antibody response with evidence from developmental, childhood, and adult exposures [22] , therefore, as immunological parameter, the response to vaccination was chosen. UISS-TOX was able to reproduce such data.…”

“…In the current study, PFOA and PFOS have been selected as reference PFAS as they are two of the most widely used and studied chemicals in the PFAS group. As mentioned above, several studies document that PFAS exposure is associated with suppression in at least one measure of the anti-vaccine antibody response with evidence from developmental, childhood, and adult exposures [22] . The response to vaccination was therefore chosen as the immunological parameter.…”

“…In addition, some studies reported a correlation between PFAS levels in the body and lower resistance to disease, in other words an increased risk of infections or cancers [29] , [30] , [31] . A relationship between higher PFAS levels and increased risk of asthma as well as increased adolescent food allergies have been reported in some studies [32] , [33] , but overall the evidence is limited [22] , [23] .…”

“…There is evidence from both epidemiology and laboratory studies that PFAS are immunotoxic, affecting both cell-mediated and humoral immunity [19] , [20] , [21] . Overall in humans, the evidence of PFAS immunosuppression shows strong evidence of diminished vaccine efficacy, some indications of increased risk of infections, and limited indication of allergies, asthma and atopic dermatitis following in utero , infant, and early childhood PFAS exposures [22] , [23] .…”