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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: In Vitro characterization of the endocrine disrupting effects of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) on the human androgen receptor.

Authors: Tachachartvanich, Phum; Singam, Ettayapuram Ramaprasad Azhagiya; Durkin, Kathleen A; Furlow, J David; Smith, Martyn T; La Merrill, Michele A

Published In J Hazard Mater, (2022 May 05)

Abstract: Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are used extensively in a broad range of industrial applications and consumer products. While a few legacy PFASs have been voluntarily phased out, over 5000 PFASs have been produced as replacements for their predecessors. The potential endocrine disrupting hazards of most emerging PFASs have not been comprehensively investigated. In silico molecular docking to the human androgen receptor (hAR) combined with machine learning techniques were previously applied to 5206 PFASs and predicted 23 PFASs bind the hAR. Herein, the in silico results were validated in vitro for the five candidate AR ligands that were commercially available. Three manufactured PFASs namely (9-(nonafluorobutyl)- 2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1 H,5 H,11 H-pyrano[2,3-f]pyrido[3,2,1-ij]quinolin-11-one (NON), 2-(heptafluoropropyl)- 3-phenylquinoxaline (HEP), and 2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,5-nonafluoro-N-(4-nitrophenyl)pentanamide (NNN) elicited significant antiandrogenic effects at relatively low concentrations. We further investigated the mechanism of AR inhibition and found that all three PFASs inhibited AR transactivation induced by testosterone through a competitive binding mechanism. We then examined the antiandrogenic effects of these PFASs on AR expression and its responsive genes. Consistently, these PFASs significantly decreased the expression of PSA and FKBP5 and increased the expression of AR, similar to the effects elicited by a known competitive AR inhibitor, hydroxyflutamide. This suggests they are competitive antagonists of AR activity and western blot analysis revealed these PFASs decreased intracellular AR protein in androgen sensitive human prostate cancer cells. Hence, the findings presented here corroborate our published in silico approach and indicate these emerging PFASs may adversely affect the human endocrine system.

PubMed ID: 35093747 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: No MeSH terms associated with this publication

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