Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in follicular fluid from women experiencing infertility in Australia

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been widely used and detected in human matrices. Evidence that PFAS exposure may be associated with adverse human reproductive health effects exists, however, data is limited. The use of a human matrix such as follicular fluid to determine chemical exposure, along with reproductive data will be used to investigate if there is a relationship between PFAS exposure and human fertility. Objective: This study aims to: (1) assess if associations exist between PFAS concentrations and/or age and fertilisation rate (as determined in follicular fluid of women in Australia who received assisted reproductive treatment (ART)); and (2) assess if associations exist between PFAS concentrations and infertility aetiology. Methods: Follicular fluids were originally collected from participants who underwent fully stimulated ART treatment cycles at an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinic in the period 2006–2009 and 2010–11 in Queensland, Australia. The samples were available for analysis of 32 PFASs including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) using high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). 97 samples were matched with limited demographic data (age and fertilisation rate) and five infertility factors (three known female factors): 1) endometriosis, 2) polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and 3) genital tract infections - tubal/pelvic inflammation disease; as well as 4) male factor, and 5) idiopathic or unknown from either males or females. SPSS was used for linear regression analysis. Results: PFASs were detected in all follicular fluid samples with the mean concentrations of PFOS and PFOA, 4.9, and 2.4 ng/ml, respectively. A lower fertilisation rate was observed at higher age when age was added as a covariate, but there was no relationship between PFAS concentrations and fertilisation rate. There were few statistically significant associations between PFAS concentrations in follicular fluid and infertility factors. Log-transformed PFHxS concentrations were lower in females with endometriosis (factor 1) than in women who had reported ‘male factors’ as a reason of infertility, while PFHpA was higher in women who had infertile due to female factors (factor 1–3) compared to those who had infertile due to male factor. Conclusion: PFASs were detected in follicular fluid of Australian women who had been treated at an IVF clinic. PFAS exposure found in follicular fluids is linked to increased risk of some infertility factors, and increased age was associated with decreased fertilisation rate in our data. But there was no relationship between PFAS and ferlitisation rate. Further large-scale investigations of PFAS and health effects including infertility are warranted

PCDD/F and PCB levels in different tissues from dugongs (Dugong dugon) inhabiting the Queensland coastline

Previous studies on PCDD/Fs and PCBs in dugong (Dugong dugon) blubber reported unexpectedly elevated TEQ levels. This study analysed archived blubber, muscle, liver and faeces obtained from dugongs from two areas along the Queensland coast. All samples showed detectable levels of PCDDs and PCBs, while PCDFs were consistently near or below LOQ. PCDD levels in dugongs contributed to a large proportion

Intravitreal Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Transiently Improves Cone-Mediated Function in a CNGB3 −/−

PURPOSE: Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) was recently shown to augment cone function in CNGB3 mutant achromat dogs. However, testing CNTF-releasing implant in human CNGB3 achromats failed to show benefit. We evaluated the effects of CNTF protein on the retinal function in an additional achromatopsia model, the CNGB3(−/−) mouse. METHODS: Fifty-nine CNGB3(−/−) mice (postnatal day [PD] ± SD = 30 ± 7) received a unilateral intravitreal injection of 1 or 2 μg CNTF protein, and 15 wild-type (WT) mice (PD = 34 ± 3) received 1 μg CNTF. Retinal function was evaluated by flash ERG and photopic flicker ERG (fERG) at 7 and 14 days after treatment. RESULTS: Seven days post CNTF, the photopic b-wave V(max) was significantly increased in CNGB3(−/−) mice (P < 0.01), whereas it was reduced in WT mice (P < 0.05). Ciliary neurotrophic factor significantly increased the amplitude of photopic fERG and the photopic oscillatory potentials (OPs) in CNGB3(−/−) mice. Ciliary neurotrophic factor did not alter the scotopic a-wave in either CNGB3(−/−) or WT mice, but it increased the scotopic b-wave k (P < 0.01) in CNGB3(−/−) mice, indicating diminished scotopic sensitivity, and reduced the scotopic b-wave V(max) in WT mice (P < 0.05). No difference was found in ERG parameters between 1 or 2 μg CNTF. Fourteen days after CNTF injection the ERG changes in CNGB3(−/−) mice were lost. CONCLUSIONS: Intravitreal bolus CNTF protein caused a small and transient improvement of cone-mediated function in CNGB3(−/−) mice, whereas it reduced rod-mediated function. The increase in photopic OPs and the lack of changes in scotopic a-wave suggest a CNTF effect on the inner retina

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Australia: Current levels and estimated population reference values for selected compounds

Background Increased public awareness of PFAS contamination in Australia has resulted in serum biomonitoring efforts in individuals in potentially affected communities. However, population-based reference values for assessing whether individual results exceed the typical range in the Australian general population are not currently available. Objective Estimate population upper bound reference values based on updated serum PFAS concentrations in pooled samples from southeast Queensland, Australia and population variation observed in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) datasets. Methods We calculated ratios of 95th percentile to arithmetic mean (P95:AM ratios) using data from the NHANES 2013–14 and 2015–16 cycle samples for frequently detected PFASs: PFOA, linear and branched PFOS, perfluorononanoate (PFNA), perfluorodecanoate (PFDA), and perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS). We estimated Australian age-specific means for PFAS using pooled serum samples collected in 2014–15 and 2016–17. We used the P95:AM ratios to estimate 95th percentile concentrations in the Australian population based on the results of the 2016–17 pooled samples. Results and conclusions P95:AM ratios for each PFAS were similar across NHANES cycle and age group, so overall compound-specific ratios were estimated for PFOA (2.1), PFNA (2.4), PFDA (2.7), PFHxS (2.7), and linear (2.4) and summed PFOS (2.3). Australian mean PFAS concentrations continued previously reported declining trends. The estimated P95 values can be used as preliminary substitutes for more rigorous population reference values to identify samples with clearly elevated serum PFAS concentrations in Australian biomonitoring efforts. Given uncertainties and variability inherent in this evaluation, the estimated P95 values should be interpreted with caution. Mean and estimated P95 serum PFAS concentrations in Australia should continue to be monitored to document declining trends in population serum concentrations.The Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Queensland Department of Health. All laboratory staff are gratefully acknowledged for their assistance and provision of sample pools. This project was partly funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant (DP180101475) and QAEHS seed funding. MDK receives salary support from the Australian National Health & Medical Research Council (GNT1136112). MDK, JFM, and JB have received funds from the Australian Government Department of Health to conduct the PFAS Health Study. Dr. Sara Broomhall is gratefully acknowledged for ongoing discussion and assistance to the QAEHS researchers