Cytotoxicity and mechanisms of perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) in umbilical cord fibroblast cells of Yangtze finless porpoise

• Published in: Aquatic toxicology 2024-11, Vol.276, p.107098, Article 107098
• Main Authors: Ahmad, Maaz, Hu, Chenyan, Liu, Mengyuan, Zhang, Haobo, Shah, Syed Ata Ur Rahman, Nabi, Ghulam, Hao, Yujiang, Chen, Lianguo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Line; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cytotoxicity; Fibroblasts - drug effects; Fluorocarbons - toxicity; Mechanism; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; PFASs; PFBS; Porpoises; Proteomics; Umbilical Cord - cytology; Umbilical Cord - drug effects; Umbilical cord fibroblast cells; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Yangtze finless porpoise
• ISSN: 0166-445X; 1879-1514; 1879-1514
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2024.107098

•PFBS reduced viability of umbilical cord fibroblast cells of Yangtze finless porpoise.•Maximum no observed effect concentration of PFBS was 400 μM after 48-h exposure.•Exposure to 400 μM PFBS for 48 h significantly perturbed the proteome structure.•Differentially expressed proteins were enriched in immune and inflammatory pathways.•PFBS increased oxidative stress and exacerbated inflammation state in YFP cells. Yangtze finless porpoises (YFP) accumulate high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). However, the health impacts of PFASs to YFP are still unknown because it is technically and ethically unfeasible to use the critically endangered YFP in toxicological exposures. To uncover the potential toxicities of PFASs to YFP, this study exposed a YFP umbilical cord fibroblast cell line to perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), an emerging PFASs pollutant in the aquatic environments. After exposure, the cytotoxicity and mechanisms of PFBS were explored. Our preliminary experiments found that PFBS compromised the cell viability in a concentration and duration dependent manner. In an exposure of 48-h duration, the maximum no observed effect concentration (NOEC) of PFBS was determined to be 400 µM. High-throughput proteomics were then conducted to identify the differentially expressed proteins in YFP cells exposed to 400 µM PFBS for 48 h. The results found that PFBS exposure significantly perturbed the proteome fingerprints of YFP umbilical cord fibroblast cells. Functional annotation of differential proteins showed that PFBS had the potential to impair a variety of biological processes associated with the immunity, oxidative stress, metabolism, and proteolysis. Consistently, the intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β were significantly increased by PFBS in YFP umbilical cord fibroblast cells. Overall, this study highlights the toxic effects of emerging PFASs on YFP and provides reference data to evaluate the health risks of aquatic pollution under the context of national YFP protection. To our knowledge, this is the first omics study using YFP umbilical cord fibroblast cells in ecotoxicology of PFASs, which is applicable to various cetacean species and pollutants.