Current Status of Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure on Lung Cell Biology and Pulmonary Outcomes along Human Health Risk Assessment Steps
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review aims to summarize the effects of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposures on the lung, emphasizing data coverage across steps of human health risk assessments. RECENT FINDINGS: There is expansive literature characterizing PFAS contamination in water, but recent studies have identified PFAS as a component of air pollution, thus impacts on the lung have been an increasing point of inquiry. Mounting evidence from human clinical/epidemiological, animal, and in vitro investigations supports relationships between PFAS exposures and adverse pulmonary outcomes including asthma, allergies, infections, and cancer. Focusing on toxicology studies using animal and in vitro lung cell models, exposures to PFAS modulated inflammation/immune responses, oxidative stress, mucus production, surfactant properties, and epithelial barrier integrity, representing important mechanisms impacting pulmonary health. There are expanding datasets linking PFAS exposures to adverse pulmonary outcomes; however, these data originated from mostly oral/ingestion exposure and not from volatilized or aerosolized PFAS exposure designs. Furthermore, there is a general lack of data informing dose-response modeling and risk characterization, representing gaps needed to characterize pulmonary health risks.
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Chemistry
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,590
Funders: Beijing Medical Award Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Prostate Cancer Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, John Templeton Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Lupus Foundation of America, Philips, Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete, University of Minnesota, Victorian Cancer Agency, U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Wellcome Trust, Lupus Research Alliance, Health and Care Research Wales, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Henri and Flore Lesieur Foundation, Rainwater Charitable Foundation, Beauty of Sight Foundation, Dutch Arthritis Society, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Beijing Xisike Clinical Oncology Research Foundation, National Institute for Health and Care Research, British Heart Foundation, Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, University of Bristol, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies, Ministero della Salute, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Vetenskapsrådet, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, Norges Forskningsråd, Deutsche Krebshilfe, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital, Gobierno de España, Osasun Saila, Eusko Jaurlaritzako, Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Program, Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation, Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia, Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, Brain Tumour Research, National Institutes of Health, Genentech, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Economic and Social Research Council, Science and Technology Facilities Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Sahlgrenska Akademin, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Daiichi Sankyo Europe, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases, British Heart Foundation Centre of Regenerative Medicine, North Carolina Policy Collaboratory
OpenAlex ID: W7155603524