Sublethal perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid delay C. elegans larval development and population growth but do not alter egg hatching

ABSTRACT

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) are polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used as surface coatings in manufacturing. Exposure to PFAS was shown to be correlated with infertility, low birth weight, and delayed aspects of pubertal development in mammals. Despite many correlational studies, there have been few direct investigations examining the link between PFAS exposure and early animal development. The aim of this study was to (1) examine the effects of PFOA on development and reproduction using the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, a model with a high predictive value for human reproductive toxicity and (2) compare observations to exposure to PFOS. PFAS exposure did not markedly alter egg hatching but delayed population growth, in part due to slower larval development. PFAS-exposed worms took longer to progress through larval stages to reach reproductive maturity, and this was not attributed to PFOA-induced toxicity to their food. Our results provide a robust benchmark for testing developmental and reproductive toxicity for other PFAS and PFAS-alternatives which continue to be used in manufacturing and released into the environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
• perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
• polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Caenorhabditis elegans
• developmental and reproductive toxicity

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Janet Foley for reagents, Cassandra Saitow for many helpful discussions, John Young for critical reading of this manuscript and Christine Li for technical assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, ESL, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Simmons University Student Research Fund grants to CB and AR and a Simmons University Passionate Leaders Project award to CB. Funding sources had no involvement in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the work presented in this report.