ArticleEnvironmental research2025
Sex-dependent relationships between PFAS and placental transcriptomics identified by weighted gene co-expression analysis.
Article in Environmental research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Stress-activated pathways mediate PFAS effects on human placental syncytiotrophoblast cells.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2026Article
- Prenatal PFAS exposure and offspring health: evidence review and implications for intergenerational risk assessment.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
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8 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmental toxicants associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. The exact mechanisms by which PFAS impairs neonatal health are undefined, but the placenta is a likely target.
objectiveWe applied a systems biology approach to identify placental RNA co-expression modules (gene sets) associated with PFAS exposure and birth weight.
methodsPlacental tissue samples (n = 147) from the GLOWING study underwent RNA-sequencing, and PFAS concentrations were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We constructed a weighted gene co-expression network using Spearman correlations across 15,028 transcripts, identifying 20 gene modules. Linear regression models were used to examine associations between PFAS and module eigengenes, adjusting for potential confounders. Effect modification by fetal sex was also tested.
resultsOne module showed a negative association with perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA; β = -0.012, q = 0.009). This association was sex-specific, with the sexes exhibiting varied PFAS associations but similar directional effects. Genes within the PFNA-associated module were involved in histone modification (q ≤ 0.05) and were enriched for targets of the Vitamin D Receptor (VDR), a transcription factor previously linked to PFAS.
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