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Abstract
Per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of anthropogenic persistent organic pollutants found ubiquitously in the environment and in human sera samples. Public concern of the long half-lives of these compounds and reports from early toxicological studies resulted in the regulations for the phasing out of two legacy PFAS, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Short-chain alternative PFAS were then introduced into manufacturing, but unlike the legacy PFAS toxicological information regarding these is lacking. Exposure to these compounds occurs through ingestion of contaminated food and water supplies, therefore PFAS interacts with the gut microbiota. PFAS are known as immunotoxicants and are associated with the development of metabolic disorders. Therefore, it is important to understand how PFAS exposure alters the gut microbiota and in turn affects the host’s metabolic and immunological functions. This research project aims to investigate the associations between the legacy PFAS, PFOS on metabolic and immunological functions associated with alterations in the fecal microbiota in a Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus murine model. Additionally, this project aims to highlight the associations of a lesser studied short-chain alternative, perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) between the fecal microbiota and metabolic and immunological functions in C57BL/6 mice.