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Exposure to environmental contaminants is associated with alterations in hepatic lipid metabolism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

ABSTRACT: Background & aims: Recent experimental models and epidemiological studies suggest that specific environmental contaminants (ECs) contribute to the initiation and pathology of NAFLD. However, the underlying mechanisms linking EC exposure with NAFLD remain poorly understood and there is no data on their impact on the human liver metabolome. Herein, we hypothesized that exposure to ECs, particularly perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), impacts liver metabolism, specifically bile acid metabolism. Methods: In a well-characterized human NAFLD cohort of 105 individuals, we investigated the effects of EC exposure on liver metabolism. We characterized the liver (via biopsy) and circulating metabolomes using four mass spectrometry-based analytical platforms, and measured PFAS and other ECs in serum. We subsequently compared these results with an exposure study in a PPARa-humanized mouse model. Results: PFAS exposure appears associated with perturbation of key hepatic metabolic pathways previously found altered in NAFLD, particularly as regards bile acid metabolism. Specifically, we identified stronger associations between the liver metabolome, chemical exposure and NAFLD-associated clinical variables in female subjects versus males. The murine exposure study further corroborated our findings, vis-à-vis a sex-specific association between PFAS exposure and NAFLD-associated lipid changes. Conclusions: Females may be more sensitive to the harmful impacts of PFAS. Lipid-related changes subsequent to PFAS exposure may be secondary to the interplay between PFAS and bile acid metabolism.

ORGANISM(S): Mouse Mus Musculus

TISSUE(S): Liver

DISEASE(S): Fatty Liver Disease

SUBMITTER: Aidan McGlinchey

PROVIDER: ST001919 | MetabolomicsWorkbench | Tue Sep 07 00:00:00 BST 2021

REPOSITORIES: MetabolomicsWorkbench

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Project description:Background: Previous epidemiological studies have repeatedly found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure associated with higher circulating cholesterol, one of the greatest risk factors for development of coronary artery disease. The main route of cholesterol catabolism is through its conversion to bile acids, which circulate between the liver and ileum via enterohepatic circulation. Patients with coronary artery disease have decreased bile acid excretion, indicating that PFAS-induced changes of enterohepatic circulation may play a critical role in cardiovascular risk. Objectives: Using a mouse model with high LDL-VLDL cholesterol and aortic lesion development similar to humans, the current study investigates mechanisms linking exposure to a PFAS mixture with increased cholesterol. Methods: Male and female Ldlr-/- mice were fed an atherogenic diet (Clinton/Cybulsky low fat, 0.15% cholesterol) and exposed to a mixture of 5 PFAS representing legacy, replacement, and emerging subtypes (i.e., PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, GenX), each at a concentration of 2 mg/L, for 7 weeks. Blood was collected longitudinally for cholesterol measurements and mass spectrometry was used to measure circulating and fecal bile acids. Transcriptomic analysis of ileal samples was performed via RNA-sequencing. Results: After 7 weeks of PFAS exposure, average circulating PFAS levels were measured at 21.6, 20.1, 31.2, 23.5, and 1.5 µg/mL in PFAS-exposed females and 12.9, 9.7, 23, 14.3, and 1.7 µg/mL in PFAS-exposed males for PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, and GenX, respectively. PFAS exposure led to elevated circulating cholesterol levels after 7 weeks compared to vehicle mice, with females increasing 18% and males increasing 24%. Total circulating bile acid levels were elevated in PFAS-exposed mice by 230% in males and 290% in females compared to vehicle. PFAS decreased fecal bile acid levels by 62% in females and 59% in males. In the ileum, expression levels of the bile acid reuptake transporter ASBT were increased due to PFAS exposure. Discussion: Mice exposed to a PFAS mixture display increased circulating cholesterol and bile acids perhaps due to changes in enterohepatic circulation. This study implicates PFAS-mediated effects at the site of the ileum as a possible critical mediator of increased cardiovascular risk due to PFAS.

Project description:2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a persistent environmental contaminant that disrupts normal hepatic function. This disruption leads to the development and progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pathologies, including steatosis, steatohepatitis, and fibrosis. TCDD exerts hepatotoxic effects through activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) eliciting transcriptional changes. Although diverse liver cell types contribute to TCDD-induced hepatotoxicity, cell-specific transcriptional changes in response to acute TCDD exposure remain unclear. The objective of this project was to elucidate the cell-specific outcomes of AHR activation following acute TCDD exposure. We conducted liver single-nuclei RNA-sequencing from male C57BL/6 mice administered 30 μg/kg of TCDD or sesame oil and sacrificed at 2, 4, 8, 12, 18, 24, or 72 hours post-oral gavage. Leiden clustering and annotation identified 10 major liver cell types, and 2 macrophage and 8 endothelial cell (EC) subtypes. While most cell types maintained their relative abundance, neutrophils exhibited an increase at 72 hours in response to TCDD. Hepatocytes, ECs, and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were the only cell types with cell-specific gene expression changes with known AHR binding sites (1,550, 102, and 40, respectively). Functional enrichment analysis in response to TCDD revealed disruptions in the metabolism of steroids, primary bile acids, vitamins, retinols, and glutathione in addition to one-carbon metabolism. EC differential gene expression was associated with PI3-AKT signaling, as well as protein processing and transport pathways. HSCs were enriched in protein processing, ABC transporters, and the dysregulation of tryptophan and linoleic acid metabolism. Altogether, these results suggest that early responses to TCDD trigger cell-specific changes in gene expression in the liver, contributing to hepatotoxicity and the emergence of hepatic pathologies related to NAFLD.

Project description:The potential effects of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a recent human and environmental health concern. There is a persistent link between PFAS exposure and cancer, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Although epidemiological evidence supporting PFAS exposure and cancer in general is conflicting, there is a relatively strong evidence linking PFAS and testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs). However, there have been no mechanistic studies to date cancerning PFAS and TGCTs. In this report, the effects of the legacy PFAS, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and the newer "clean energy" PFAS, lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (LiTFSi and called HQ-115) on TGCT tumorigenicity, survival, metabolism, and gene regulation were investigated. In vitro, proliferation and survival of both chemo-sensitive and -resistant TGCT cells were minimally affected by a wide concentration range of PFOS and HQ-115. However, both chemicals promoted the growth of TGCT cells in mouse xenografts at doses consistenet with human exposure but had minimal acute toxicity, as assessed by total body, kidney, and testis weight. PFOS, but not HQ-115, increased liver weight. Transcriptiomic alterations of PFOS-exposed normal mouse testes were dominated by cancer-related pathways and gene expression altersations associated with the H3K27me3 polycomb pathway and DNA methylation, epigenetic pathways were previously shown to be critical for the survival of TGCT cells after cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Similar pattersn of PFOS-mediated gene expression occured in PFOS-exposed cells in vitro. Metabolomic studies revealed that PFOS also altered metabolites associiated with steroid biosynthesis and fatty acid metabolism in TGCT cells, consistent with the proposed ability of PFAS to mimic fatty acied based ligands controlling lipid metabolism and the proposed role of PFAS as endocrine disrupters. Our data, this first cell and animal based study on PFAS in TGCTs, support a pro-tumorigenic effect of PFAS on TGCT biology and suggests epigenetic, metabolic, and endocrine disruption as potential mechanisms of action that are consistent with the non-mutagenic nature of the PFAS class.

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Exposure to environmental contaminants is associated with alterations in hepatic lipid metabolism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

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