Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used in a variety of industrial processes and manufacturing of consumer products. Current efforts by the manufacturing industry will limit use of long-chain or legacy PFAS represented by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and replace with short-chain or emerging PFAS such as perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS). However, there is little to no information on the toxicity of new and emerging PFAS. Therefore, we performed experiments in growing Long-Evans male rats to investigate effects of low-dose prepubertal and pubertal exposures to PFAS on gonadal steroid hormone secretion. The results demonstrated that both legacy and emerging PFAS have the capacity to regulate testicular steroidogenesis. For instance, prepubertal exposures to PFOS, PFBA, and PFBS increased serum and testicular testosterone concentrations. Exposure to PFBA increased testicular 17β-estradiol (E2) concentrations, and PFOS and PFBS both decreased serum E2 concentrations while stimulating testicular E2 secretion. The data also demonstrated additive effects due to legacy and emerging PFAS mixtures compared with the individual chemicals. The gonadal effects due to PFAS exposures occurred at nanomolar concentrations, which approximate PFAS levels in the environment. Taken together, the present study supports the need for development of cost-effective and sustainable filtration media for different processes to remove PFAS from water and other sources of exposure. Current action by regulatory agencies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency to limit use of PFAS in the manufacture of consumer products will protect public health.

中文翻译：

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传统和新兴的全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质调节男性性腺中的类固醇生成。

全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质 (PFAS) 广泛用于各种工业流程和消费品制造。目前制造业将限制以全氟辛酸（PFOA）和全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）为代表的长链或传统PFAS的使用，并用全氟丁酸（PFBA）和全氟丁磺酸等短链或新兴PFAS取代（全氟BS）。然而，关于新出现的 PFAS 毒性的信息很少甚至没有。因此，我们在生长中的 Long-Evans 雄性大鼠中进行了实验，以研究青春期前和青春期低剂量 PFAS 暴露对性腺类固醇激素分泌的影响。结果表明，传统的和新兴的 PFAS 都有调节睾丸类固醇生成的能力。例如，青春期前接触 PFOS、PFBA 和 PFBS 会增加血清和睾丸睾酮浓度。接触 PFBA 会增加睾丸 17β-雌二醇 (E2) 浓度，而 PFOS 和 PFBS 都会降低血清 E2 浓度，同时刺激睾丸 E2 分泌。数据还表明，与单个化学品相比，传统和新兴的 PFAS 混合物会产生附加效应。PFAS 暴露对性腺的影响发生在纳摩尔浓度，接近环境中 PFAS 的水平。总而言之，本研究支持需要开发具有成本效益且可持续的过滤介质，用于不同的工艺，以去除水和其他暴露源中的 PFAS。美国环境保护局等监管机构目前采取的限制 PFAS 在消费品制造中使用的行动将保护公众健康。