Perfluorooctanoic acid exposure disrupts gut microbiota and aggravates experimental colitis.

Dietary PFOA exposure worsens colitis severity by promoting neutrophil infiltration, epithelial barrier disruption, and microbiome alterations in a DSS-induced colitis model.

• Why it matters: Understanding how environmental pollutants like PFOA influence inflammatory bowel disease is critical, as PFOA is widespread and linked to IBD in epidemiological studies. Clarifying mechanisms can inform risk assessment and intervention strategies.
• What they did: Researchers used a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) model to investigate the effects of dietary PFOA on colitis, analyzing body weight, colon length, histopathology, immune cell activity, epithelial integrity, and gut microbiome and metabolome changes.
• The result: PFOA exposure increased colitis severity, with enhanced neutrophil activity, epithelial barrier damage, and microbiome shifts, suggesting PFOA may act as an environmental factor that exacerbates IBD through immune and microbial pathways.