Impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure on renal dysfunction: Integrating epidemiological evidence with mechanistic insights

Weitao Su; Ziwen An; Yayuan Mei; Zhenzhen Tan; Zexuan Jiang; Xiuli Zeng; Zhiqiang Dong; Ming Yang; Jingtao Wu; Huicai Guo; Ang Li

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126744

Impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure on renal dysfunction: Integrating epidemiological evidence with mechanistic insights

Environ Pollut. 2025 Jun 28:382:126744. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126744. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Weitao Su¹, Ziwen An², Yayuan Mei³, Zhenzhen Tan², Zexuan Jiang², Xiuli Zeng², Zhiqiang Dong⁴, Ming Yang⁴, Jingtao Wu⁴, Huicai Guo⁵, Ang Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ Central Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, Fujian, 362000, China.
² Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050017, China.
³ Big Data Center, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China; State Key Laboratory of Common Mechanism Research for Major Diseases, Beijing, 100005, China.
⁵ Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050017, China; Hebei Key Laboratory of Environment and Human Health, Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, 050017, China; Key Laboratory of Neural and Vascular Biology, Ministry of Education, Shijiazhuang, 050017, China. Electronic address: huicaiguo@hebmu.edu.cn.
⁶ Hebei Key Laboratory of Environment and Human Health, Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, 050017, China; Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050017, China. Electronic address: pumcleon@ibms.pumc.edu.cn.

PMID: 40588156
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126744

Abstract

Renal dysfunction poses a growing global health burden, yet the role of environmental contaminants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), particularly their underlying mechanisms, remains understudied. This cross-sectional study included 2801 adults from North China (Shijiazhuang and Baoding City). Plasma concentrations of 21 legacy and alternative PFAS were quantified via ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Renal function markers (serum creatinine (SCr), serum uric acid (SUA), SUA to SCr ratio (SUA/SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), BUN to SCr ratio (BUN/SCr), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)) and inflammatory markers were assessed. Multivariable linear regression and quantile g-computation evaluated individual and mixture effects. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis assessed renal markers' predictive ability for PFAS. Mediation analysis investigated the role of inflammatory markers, while bioinformatics explored molecular mechanisms. Nine PFAS demonstrated significant associations with elevated SCr, SUA, SUA/SCr, BUN, BUN/SCr, or reduced eGFR. Notably, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) exhibited concurrent associations with SCr, SUA, BUN, and eGFR. PFAS mixtures were linked to increased SCr, SUA, SUA/SCr, BUN, and decreased eGFR. PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contributed most to eGFR decline and SUA elevation, respectively. ROC analysis demonstrated superior predictive performance of renal biomarkers for PFOS. Inflammatory markers significantly mediated PFAS (particularly PFOS)-renal dysfunction associations. Bioinformatics implicated lipid metabolism dysregulation and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling disruption as key mechanisms. In conclusion, PFAS exposure, especially PFOS, was associated with renal dysfunction, mediated primarily by inflammation and lipid metabolism. These findings provide critical mechanistic insights for developing prevention and management strategies against PFAS-associated renal dysfunction.

Keywords: Estimated glomerular filtration rate; Inflammation; Lipid metabolism; Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance; Renal dysfunction.