Long-Chain Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) Affect the Bioconcentration and Tissue Distribution of Short-Chain PFAAs in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Abstract
Short- and long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), ubiquitously coexisting in the environment, can be accumulated in organisms by binding with proteins and their binding affinities generally increase with their chain length. Therefore, we hypothesized that long-chain PFAAs will affect the bioconcentration of short-chain PFAAs in organisms. To testify this hypothesis, the bioconcentration and tissue distribution of five short-chain PFAAs (linear C–F = 3–6) were investigated in zebrafish in the absence and presence of six long-chain PFAAs (linear C–F = 7–11). The results showed that the concentrations of the short-chain PFAAs in zebrafish tissues increased with exposure time until steady states reached in the absence of long-chain PFAAs. However, in the presence of long-chain PFAAs, these short-chain PFAAs in tissues increased until peak values reached and then decreased until steady states, and the uptake and elimination rate constants of short-chain PFAAs declined in all tissues and their BCF ss decreased by 24–89%. The inhibitive effect of long-chain PFAAs may be attributed to their competition for transporters and binding sites of proteins in zebrafish with short-chain PFAAs. These results suggest that the effect of long-chain PFAAs on the bioconcentration of short-chain PFAAs should be taken into account in assessing the ecological and environmental effects of short-chain PFAAs.
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Long-chain PFASs, particularly PFOS, dominate in fish, while short-chain PFASs, such as PFPeA, are more prevalent in omnivorous or herbivorous fish muscle, likely due to dietary exposure.
“Long-chain PFASs, particularly PFOS, dominate in fish, while short-chain PFASs, such as PFPeA, are more prevalent in omnivorous or herbivorous fish muscle, likely due to dietary exposure [192].”
From Industrial Applications, Environmental Fate, Human Exposure, and Health Effects of PFAS (2025) · cites this paper as [192]
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“Long-chain PFASs, particularly PFOS, dominate in fish, while short-chain PFASs, such as PFPeA, are more prevalent in omnivorous or herbivorous fish muscle, likely due to dietary exposure [192].”
- Authors
- Wen, W., Xia, X., Hu, D., Zhou, D., Wang, H., Zhai, Y., & Lin, H.
- Affiliations
- Beijing Normal University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Xia, Xinghui
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2017-10-23
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 12358-12368
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2761344049
- Cited by
- 101
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 6
- FWCI
- 4.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (2017YFA0605001)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (51325902, 51421065, 91547207)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Keywords
- perfluoroalkyl acids, bioconcentration factor, tissue distribution, zebrafish, protein binding affinity, competitive binding
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Fluorocarbons, Tissue Distribution, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Zebrafish
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