Category Research project
  • Risikokommunikation

Innovative Training Network on PER and polyfluorinated alkyl substances towards the Future Of Research and its Communication in Europe 3

Project status
Completed
Project start
Jan 2020
Project end
Jun 2024
Acronym
PERFORCE3
Department
Lebensmittelsicherheit
Website
https://perforce3-itn.eu/

Description and Objective

PERFORCE3 is a Europe-wide multi-partner doctoral research training programme in the field of PFASs contaminants coordinated by Stockholm University and funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under its Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. PFASs comprise more than 4’700 substances and are of high global concern due to poorly defined risks to the environment and human health. PERFORCE3 will greatly improve the understanding of these globally pervasive contaminants, find solutions for PFAS contamination problems and improve environmental and human health risk assessment frameworks and policies. PERFORCE3 brings together world leaders in a range of disciplines with state-of-the-art technologies, providing high quality doctoral training and research environments to 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs). The training includes independent research work in individual yet interlinked research projects and a well-structured training programme including technical and professional transferable skills courses, network meetings as well as international lab visits and secondments. Participation in PERFORCE3 will equip young scientists with research and transferable skills and competences, while fostering their creativity and innovation and boosting their career perspectives through international and interdisciplinary mobility opportunities.

Result

Besides the well-known PFAS like PFOS and PFOA with their extensive previous industrial use a number of follow-up compounds such as polyfluoroether compounds were studied. Within the part of the project conducted by BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment human liver cell models, especially HepaRG cells, were used for the analyses. Cytotoxicity, nuclear receptor activation, transcript analyses and alterations in lipid metabolism were chosen as endpoints. Besides invididual compounds, also exposureExposureTo glossary-relevant PFAS mixtures were investigated.It was shown that the follow-up compounds mostly showed diminished cytotoxicity, as compared to the "classic" PFAS PFOS and PFOA. Activation of the receptor PPAR alpha, responsible for liver toxicity of PFAS observed in animal experiments, was demonstrated only for some follow-up compounds. Different PFAS were able to induce tryglyceride accumulation in HepaRG cells at high contentrations. Lipidomics and transcript analyses furthermore showed that numerous PFAS exert partially opposed effects also on different other lipid species. Effects beyond additivity were recorded for nuclear receptor activation by PFAS mixtures at high concentrations.
Type of project

Third-party funded project

Research focus

Moderne Methoden in der Toxikologie / Wirkungsbezogene Analytik und Risikofrüherkennung

Organisational units and partners

Lead specialist group: Zellbasierte Teststrategien und Toxikogenomik (74)
Contact persons: Prof. Dr. Albert Braeuning
External partner: Universität van Amsterdam, Free University Amsterdam, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH, University of Birmingham, Norwegian Institute for Air Research, The Arctic University of Norway, Karolinska-Institut, Schwedische Universität für Agrarwissenschaften), Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Hochschule Fresenius, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Stockholms Universitet

Funding body and grant number

Europäische Union
Grant Agreement 860665

Our newsletters

The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment offers you various newsletters in German and English.

Subscribe