Meeting Abstract
P3.13 Tuesday, Jan. 6 The Effect of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate Exposure on Gene Expression and WBC in Mouse YOUSSEF, S. K.; FISCHER-DROWOS, S.; MORRIS, R. W. *; VATNICK, I.; NAGENGAST, A. A; Widener University, Chester, PA syoussef@mail.widener.edu
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and similar organofluorides have been used in applications such as clothing, carpets and fast food containers by companies such as 3M for over fifty years. PFOS bioaccumulates and significant levels have been found in mammals, fish, and birds. In laboratory studies, rats exposed to PFOS showed a dose-dependent decrease in bodyweight, increase in corticosterone and norepinephrine, and a decrease in reproductive ability. In humans, PFOS has a serum half-life of 8.5 years and has been detected in people of all ages in many places around the world. In vitro studies suggest PFOS exposure may have an immunosuppressant effect. In order to explore the health effects of PFOS exposure, we exposed twenty-five isogenic male mice to PFOS at 0mg/kg/d (control), 3ng/kg/d (average human exposure), 1mg/kg/d, or 5mg/kg/d (middle to high doses) in their drinking water for two months. Bodyweight and eating/drinking habits were monitored throughout the exposure period. The mice were sacrificed, blood was collected from the carotids, and organs were harvested and frozen in liquid nitrogen for further analysis. White blood cell counts in the 2 higher doses were 50% lower than the control and low dose animals. These results suggest that PFOS has an immunosuppressant effect and verifies previous in vitro studies. We are currently investigating gene expression levels in the 3ng/kg/d and 5mg/kg/d group mice compared to control mice by microarray analysis. Because factory workers in PFOS-producing plants had a higher rate of bladder cancer, we are extracting RNA from the bladders of control and exposed mice to probe microarray chips containing 25,000 genes. We expect to find variation in expression of genes associated with bladder cancer, particularly fgfr3, hras, rb1, tP53, tsc1.
