ArticleJournal of endocrinological investigation2020
Perfluoro-octanoic acid impairs sperm motility through the alteration of plasma membrane.
Article in Journal of endocrinological investigation, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 118 citations in OpenAlex.
- Current risk factors for male infertility and semen parameters: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Asian journal of andrology · 2026Pooled it
- Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure and Risk of Kidney, Liver, and Testicular Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.La Medicina del lavoro · 2023Pooled it
- Pollutants and sperm quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Pooled it
- PFAS Mixture Composition and Internal Exposure Profiles Shape Biological Responses under Field-Realistic Exposure.Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- Endocrine Disruption Induced by Environmental Exposure to the Acaricide Cyflumetofen and Its Main Metabolite.Toxics · 2026Article
- Effects of Pharmacological and Agrochemical Endocrine Disruptors on Human Sperm Mitochondrial Respiration: Evidence from Ex Vivo Bioenergetic Profiling.Journal of xenobiotics · 2026Article
- An overview of the impact of PFAS on animals, humans, and the environment using a One Health approach.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2026Review
- Real-Time Identification and Quantification of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Using High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry with Positive Reagent Ions.Analytical chemistry · 2026Article
- In vitro models of the male reproductive system: applications for developmental and reproductive toxicology.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2025Review
- The impact of chemical pollution and warming on male fertility: a narrative review by the Special Interest Group "Environment and Fertility" of the Italian Society of Fertility and Sterility and Reproductive Medicine (SIFES-MR).Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025Review
- Stem Cell-Derived Embryo Models: Potential Platforms for Investigating Early Development and Embryotoxicity.International journal of stem cells · 2025Review
- Models and challenges for studying forever chemicals and their impact on human health.Disease models & mechanisms · 2025Review
- Molecular Alterations in Semen of Per-And Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposed Subjects: Association Between DNA Integrity, Antioxidant Capacity and Lipoperoxides.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Additive effect of Bisphenol A and Pefluoro-sulphoctanoic acid exposure at subacute toxic levels, on a murine model of sertoli cell.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2025Article
- In Vitro Investigation of Perfluorooctane Sulphonate and Perfluorooctanoic Acid on Boar Spermatozoa Agglutination.Veterinary medicine and science · 2025Article
- Serum levels of per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances and methylation of DNA from peripheral blood.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- PFAS Exposure and Male Reproductive Health: Implications for Sperm Epigenetics.Seminars in reproductive medicine · 2024Review
- Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and Cancer risk: results from a dose-response Meta-analysis.Journal of environmental health science & engineering · 2024Article
- Characterizing PFAS hazards and risks: a human population-based in vitro cardiotoxicity assessment strategy.Human genomics · 2024Article
- Ancestral lineages of dietary exposure to an endocrine disrupting chemical drive distinct forms of transgenerational subfertility in an insect model.Scientific reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextPerfluoroalkyl-substances (PFAS) are chemical additives considered harmful for humans. We recently showed that accumulation of perfluoro-octanoic acid (PFOA) in human semen of exposed subjects was associated with altered motility parameters of sperm cells, suggesting direct toxicity.
objectivesTo determine whether direct exposure of human spermatozoa to PFOA was associated to impairment of cell function. PATIENTS AND
methodsSpermatozoa isolated from semen samples of ten normozoospermic healthy donors were exposed up to 2 h to PFOA, at concentrations from 0.1 to 10 ng/mL. Viability and motility parameters were evaluated by Sperm Class Analyser. Cell respiratory function was assessed by both mitochondrial probe JC-1 and respiratory control ratio (RCR) determination. Sperm accumulation of PFOA was quantified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Expression of organic ion-transporters OATP1 and SLCO1B2 was assessed by immunofluorescence and respective role in PFOA accumulation was evaluated by either blockade with probenecid or membrane scavenging through β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). Plasma membrane fluidity and electrochemical potential (ΔΨp) were evaluated, respectively, with Merocyanine-540 and Di-3-ANEPPDHQ fluorescent probes.
resultsCompared to untreated controls, a threefold increase of the percentage of non-motile sperms was observed after 2 h of exposure to PFOA regardless of the concentration of PFOA, whilst RCR was significantly reduced. Only scavenging with β-CD was effective in reducing PFOA accumulation, suggesting membrane involvement. Altered membrane fluidity, reduced ΔΨp and sperm motility loss associated with exposure to PFOA were reverted by β-CD treatment.
conclusionPFOA alters human sperm motility through plasma-membrane disruption, an effect recovered by incubation with β-CD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.