Serum perfluorooctanoic acid and hepatic enzymes, lipoproteins, and cholesterol: a study of occupationally exposed men.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) produces marked hepatic effects, including hepatomegaly, focal hepatocyte necrosis, hypolipidemia, and alteration of hepatic lipid metabolism in a number of animal species. In rodents, PFOA is a peroxisome proliferator, an inducer of members of the cytochrome P450 superfamily and other enzymes involved in xenobiotic metabolism, an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation, and may not be a cancer promoter. Although PFOA is the major organofluorine compound found in humans, little information is available concerning human responses to PFOA exposure. This study of 115 occupationally exposed workers examined the cross-sectional associations between PFOA and hepatic enzymes, lipoproteins, and cholesterol. The findings indicate that there is no significant clinical hepatic toxicity at the PFOA levels observed in this study. PFOA may modulate the previously described hepatic responses to obesity and xenobiotics.