2022/11/12 by Claudia Gundacker, Karine Audouze, Raimund Widhalm +8 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Medicine · #Birth, Development, and Health #Gestational Diabetes Research and Management #Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/toxics10110684
openalex publication_date 2022/11/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
for studies published until March 2021 that examined PFAS exposure in relation to birth weight, oxidative stress, hormones/hormone receptors, or growth signaling pathways. Of these 1880 articles, 106 experimental studies remained after abstract screening. One clear finding is that PFAS are associated with oxidative stress in in vivo animal studies and in vitro studies. It appears that PFAS-induced reactive-oxygen species (ROS) generation triggers increased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ expression and activation of growth signaling pathways, leading to hyperdifferentiation of pre-adipocytes. Fewer proliferating pre-adipocytes result in lower adipose tissue weight and in this way may reduce birth weight. PFAS may also impair fetal growth through endocrine effects. Estrogenic effects have been noted in in vivo and in vitro studies. Overall, data suggest thyroid-damaging effects of PFAS affecting thyroid hormones, thyroid hormone gene expression, and histology that are associated in animal studies with decreased body and organ weight. The effects of PFAS on the complex relationships between oxidative stress, endocrine system function, adipogenesis, and fetal growth should be further explored.