Transcriptome analysis of 3D primary mouse liver spheroids shows that long-term exposure to hexafluoropropylene oxide trimer acid disrupts hepatic bile acid metabolism

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 812; p. 151509
• Main Authors: Sun, Sujie, Wang, Jianshe, Yao, Jingzhi, Guo, Hua, Dai, Jiayin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15-03-2022
• Subjects: 3D spheroids; Animals; Bile acid transport; Bile Acids and Salts; Caprylates - toxicity; Fluorocarbons - toxicity; Gene Expression Profiling; Hepatotoxicity; HFPO-TA; Liver; Mice; Oxides; Transcriptome analysis; Bile acid transport; HFPO-TA; Transcriptome analysis; 3D spheroids; Hepatotoxicity
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151509

Hexafluoropropylene oxide trimer acid (HFPO-TA), an alternative to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), has been detected in various environmental and human matrices. However, information regarding its toxicity remains limited. Here, we established a three-dimensional (3D) primary mouse liver spheroid model to compare the hepatotoxicity of HFPO-TA and PFOA. The 3D spheroids were repeatedly exposed to 25-, 50-, or 100-μM HFPO-TA and PFOA for 28 d. Compared with the PFOA groups, the HFPO-TA groups showed higher bioaccumulation potential, higher lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage, and lower adenosine triphosphate (ATP), albumin, and urea secretion. Transcriptome analysis identified 1603 and 772 differentially expressed genes in the 100-μM HFPO-TA- and PFOA-treated groups, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that cholesterol metabolism, bile acid metabolism, and inflammatory response were significantly altered. Exposure to 100-μM HFPO-TA increased triglyceride content but decreased total cholesterol content, while no changes were observed in the 100-μM PFOA-treated group. Total bile acids in the re-polarized 3D spheroids increased significantly after 100-μM HFPO-TA and PFOA treatment, which did not affect bile acid synthesis but inhibited the expression levels of Bsep and Mrp2 related to bile acid transport. Thus, HFPO-TA exhibited more serious hepatotoxicity than PFOA in 3D primary liver spheroids and may not be a safe alternative.
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•Scaffold-free 3D primary liver spheroids were successfully cultured for 28 d.•Albumin secretion was a sensitive toxic parameter of HFPO-TA exposure.•HFPO-TA and PFOA inhibited bile acid transport in 3D spheroids.•Hepatotoxicity of HFPO-TA was higher than that of PFOA in 3D spheroids.