Developmental Exposure to the PFAS molecule, PFOA, alters Lipid Homeostasis in Drosophila Melanogaster
Authors: Eric Kilbourn; Jason Tennessen
Affiliation: Indiana University Bloomington
Keywords: b. metabolism; o. obesity
Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made environmental contaminants that are now found on all seven continents. This family of compounds has been linked to heath issues such as liver cancers, decreased efficiency in vaccines, and obesity. The most prevalent of these compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), has a predicted environmental half life of over 1000 years, meaning dozens of future generations be exposed to this molecule and the broad range of related PFAS chemicals. Despite the serious health concerns with PFAS, and PFOA in particular, relatively few mechanistic studies have examined the effects of PFAS in vivo. Here we address this deficiency by examining the effects of PFOA on Drosophila metabolism. Our preliminary results reveal that flies readily absorb PFOA from dietary sources and accumulate this molecule to detectable levels. Moreover, our preliminary results reveal that developmental exposure of PFOA induces abnormal lipid droplet accumulation in the larval fat body. We are now examining the effects of PFOA exposure on both triglyceride metabolism as well as the metabolism of other lipid species. Overall, our data shows that that D. melanogaster is a promising model for the investigating the effects of PFAS exposure on human health.