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Researchersfrom North Carolina State University have found elevated levels of 11 per- andpolyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in the blood of Cape Fear River striped bass.Two of those compounds perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Nafion byproduct2 are associated with altered immune and liver functions in those fish.

Scott Belcher, associate professor of biology and corresponding author of a paper describing the research, led a team that included NCState colleagues Detlef Knappe, Ben Reading and postdoctoral researcher Theresa Guillette as well as partners from the North Carolina Wildlife Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Theteam isolated serum from the blood of 58 wild caught Cape Fear River stripedbass ranging in age from 2 to 7 years old. In collaboration with EPA researchersMark Stryner and James McCord, they determined the concentrations of 23different PFAS chemicals present in the serum using a combination of liquidchromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Testingblood levels gives you an idea of the body burden of these particularchemicals, Belcher says. The levels of these chemicals in the water weremeasured in parts per trillion, but in the serum of the fish levels are higherand in parts per billion, demonstrating that they have clearly bioaccumulatedin these fish.

Theteam then compared the blood serum samples from the wild caught fish to thosefrom a reference population of 29 striped bass raised in an aquaculturefacility fed by ground water. The serum levels of chemicals in the wild caughtbass were 40% higher, on average, than the background levels found in thisreference population, Belcher says.

Incomparison to the levels of PFAS found in Cape Fear River water, elevatedlevels of PFOS and Nafion byproduct 2 were found in 100% and 78% of the wildbass samples, respectively. The serum concentrations of these compounds wereassociated with biomarkers of altered liver enzyme activity and immune functionin those fish.

ThesePFAS levels are some of the highest recorded in fish, Belcher says, but oneof the most unusual findings here is that smaller or younger fish had thehighest levels of these compounds. This points to the fact that PFAS chemicalsare very different from other persistent chemicals, like mercury or PCBs. Theyhave unique and very different chemical properties that cause them tobioaccumulate differently, and were really just beginning to understand whyand how they do what they do.

The work appears in Environment International, and was supported in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (award numbers P30ES025128 and R21ES029353), and a North Carolina Sea Grant Community Collaborative Research Grant. Theresa Guillette is first author. Matthew Guillette, M.E. Polera and Nadine Kotlarz from NCState, as well as Kyle Rachels and Clint Morgeson from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, also contributed to the work.

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Note to editors: An abstract follows.

ElevatedPer- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Cape Fear River Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) are Associatedwith Biomarkers of Altered Immune and Liver Function

DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105358

Authors: T.C. Guillette, Matthew Guillette, M.E. Polera, NadineKotlarz, Detlef Knappe, Benjamin J. Reading, Scott Belcher, North CarolinaState University; James McCord, Mark Strynar, National Exposure Research Laboratory,ORD, U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; Kyle Rachels, ClintMorgeson, N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Inland Fisheries DivisionRaleigh, NC

Published: Feb. 7 in Environment International

Abstract:Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)are anthropogenic chemicals of concern that persist within the environment.Environmental monitoring revealed high concentrations of hexafluoropropyleneoxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and other novel PFAS in the lower Cape Fear River;however, there is limited information on PFAS exposures and effects of thiscontamination on aquatic biota. Serum concentrations of 23 different PFAS inStriped Bass (Morone saxatilis) fromthe Cape Fear River (n=58), and a reference population from an aquaculturelaboratory on the Pamlico/Tar watershed (n=29), were quantified using liquidchromatography, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and correlations betweenPFAS concentrations and health-related serum biomarkers were evaluated.Perfluorooctane sulfonate, the predominant PFAS in Cape Fear River Striped Bassserum, was detectable in every sample with serum concentrations reaching 977ng/mL. Perfluorononanoic and perfluorodecanoic acid were also detected in allsamples, with perfluorohexanesulfonic acid present in >98% of the samples.HFPO-DA (range <0.24-5.85 ng/mL) and Nafion byproduct 2 (range <0.21.03ng/mL) were detected in 48% and 78% of samples, respectively. The mean totalPFAS concentration found in domestic Striped Bass raised in well-water under controlled aquacultureconditions was 40 times lower, with HPFO-DA detected in 10% of the samples, andNafion byproduct 2 not detected. The elevated PFAS concentrations found in theCape Fear River Striped Bass were associated with biomarkers of alterations inthe liver and immune system.

Read more here:
High Levels of PFAS Affect Immune, Liver Functions in Cape Fear River Striped Bass - NC State News

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