PFAS Environmental Pollution and Antioxidant Responses: An Overview of the Impact on Human Field

Abstract

Due to their unique properties, perfluorinated substances (PFAS) are widely used in multiple industrial and commercial applications, but they are toxic for animals, humans included. This review presents some available data on the PFAS environmental distribution in the world, and in particular in Europe and in the Veneto region of Italy, where it has become a serious problem for human health. The consumption of contaminated food and drinking water is considered one of the major source of exposure for humans. Worldwide epidemiological studies report the negative effects that PFAS have on human health, due to environmental pollution, including infertility, steroid hormone perturbation, thyroid, liver and kidney disorders, and metabolic disfunctions. In vitro and in vivo researches correlated PFAS exposure to oxidative stress effects (in mammals as well as in other vertebrates of human interest), produced by a PFAS-induced increase of reactive oxygen species formation. The cellular antioxidant defense system is activated by PFAS, but it is only partially able to avoid the oxidative damage to biomolecules.

Antioxidant Responses Induced by PFAS Exposure in Freshwater Fish in the Veneto Region

“…Since PFAS can interact with many molecular components of the cell, they can also interfere with different metabolic pathways [ 23 , 24 ], leading to an increase in ROS production and pathologies such as immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and alterations of the reproductive system [ 25 ]. It has been shown that PFAS can also cause endocrine disruption and alteration of lipid metabolism [ 3 , 26 , 27 ].…”

“…Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) have been among the first to be detected in human blood and in the environment and are considered some of the most widespread PFAS, as shown in several studies [ 3 ].…”

“…Many of these synthetic chemical compounds are known to be both hydro- and lipophobic, as well as chemically and thermally stable [ 1 ]. They have also dielectric properties, low surface energy, low friction properties [ 3 ], and a surfactant nature [ 4 ]. PFAS are extremely resistant to hydrolysis, photolysis, biodegradation, and metabolism [ 5 ].…”

First Evidence of In Vitro Effects of C6O4—A Substitute of PFOA—On Haemocytes of the Clam Ruditapes philippinarum

“…In cells, oxidative stress may occur when ROS production exceeds the antioxidant defence system, causing the peroxidation of membrane lipids, damage to DNA, proteins, and enzymes, and the activation of apoptotic and/or necrotic processes [ 38 ]. Oxidative stress can be promoted by exposure of the organisms to a variety of environmental contaminants, including PFAS [ 39 , 40 ].…”

Assessment of Reed Grasses (Phragmites australis) Performance in PFAS Removal from Water: A Phytoremediation Pilot Plant Study

“…The presence of the extremely strong C-F bond leading to their high stability and resistance to thermal and (bio)chemical degradation [2][3][4]. Due to their unique properties, PFASs have been widely employed in everyday products and industrial formulations with many different applications from non-stick coatings (e.g., cookware and food packaging) to fire-fighting foams, pesticides, and cosmetics since the 1940s [5]. At the same time, these characteristics of PFASs make them environmentally persistent, with the potential to undergo long-range transport and damage living organisms [6,7].…”