Environmental Pollution最新文献

{"title":"Adaptation of methanogenic microbial assemblages to antibiotics: The role of resistance genes and taxonomic composition","authors":"Eric Bollinger ,&nbsp;Johanna Mayer ,&nbsp;Foon Yin Lai ,&nbsp;Ralf Schulz ,&nbsp;Sabine Filker ,&nbsp;Mirco Bundschuh","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126828","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126828","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Antibiotics are omnipresent contaminants in aquatic systems and can impact key ecosystem processes. Methanogenesis by anaerobic Archaea is such a process that has gained attention because antibiotics can increase their methane (CH₄) production dynamics – a 28-fold more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Since such effects may depend on assemblage composition and antibiotic resistance, we investigated antibiotic effects on methanogenesis in sediments from a negiglibly impacted site (reserve) and downstream of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Prior to incubation, short-term pre-treatment with antibiotics aimed to stimulate adaptive responses. During incubation, antibiotics reduced methanogenesis speed in WWTP sediment (−7 %) but increased it in the reserve (10 %), with site-specific patterns linked to differences in prokaryotic assemblage composition and their gene expression. Methanomicrobia, a key methanogenic group, showed contrasting responses across sites, likely mediated by prokaryotic substrate dynamics, particularly within the acetate pathway. Pre-treatment effects on methanogenesis dynamics were minor (maximum Bayesian factor of 3.6), but subtle shifts in prokaryotic activity and composition were observed. Elevated antibiotic resistance gene expression in WWTP sediments reflected historical exposure but did not mitigate antibiotic impacts on methanogenesis. These findings show the vulnerability of methanogenic assemblages to antibiotics despite potential adaptations and emphasize the risks posed by pharmaceutical pollution to critical freshwater ecosystem functions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126828"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144622741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating hydrogeochemical characterization and multivariate statistics for the source identification and health risk assessment of groundwater pollution in the Ze Zhou Basin, Northern China","authors":"Jiamei Fu ,&nbsp;Jiawei Chen ,&nbsp;Fei Liu ,&nbsp;Xiaoyan Zheng ,&nbsp;Chenhui Guo ,&nbsp;Yunrong Dai","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126833","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126833","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The quality of groundwater is critically important. Identification and control of groundwater pollution sources is of great significance for the protection of regional groundwater. However, the interactions between human activities and the natural environment complicate the identification of pollution sources. The detection of pollution anomalies can effectively enhance the accuracy of pollution source identification. In the present study, the combined method of hydrogeochemical characteristics and mathematical statistics analysis was employed to detect the pollution anomalies of groundwater in the Ze Zhou basin. This approach establishes connections among various indicators and applies mathematical concepts of dimensionality reduction, coupling and verification for statistical analysis, which could accurately detect pollution anomalies. On this basis, pollution sources were identified by principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis further, with the accuracy rate of pollution sources identification &gt;90 %, which was verified by the combined analysis of field investigation experiment and land use type data. Moreover, an improved PCA and rank sum ratio (PCA-RSR) model was employed to evaluate the regional groundwater quality. The results indicated that more than 66 % of samples in the study area met quality standards, but there are also some localized pollution sites. Finally, the health risks caused by exposure to groundwater contaminants were assessed. Some heavy metals, including As, Hg, Ni, Pb, Cu, Cr and petroleum pollutants were identified as posing a high risk, and exceeded the safety threshold. Heavy metal As posed significant risks, with 7.248 (children) and 3.653 (adults) non-carcinogenic hazard indices, and 0.006 (children) and 0.156 (adults) carcinogenic risks. Petroleum pollutants exhibited elevated 0.00104 (adults) carcinogenic risk. This study presents a novel coupling method for identifying the pollution sources of regional groundwater, and the findings of this study are pivotal for the targeted control and mitigation of regional groundwater pollution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126833"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144629862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exposure to chiral pydiflumetofen induces cardiovascular toxicity in early stages of zebrafish","authors":"Yanjuan Zhu ,&nbsp;Fei Fang ,&nbsp;Bo Peng ,&nbsp;Wenping Xu ,&nbsp;Xuhong Qian ,&nbsp;Yang Zhang ,&nbsp;Jiagao Cheng","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126819","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126819","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pesticides increase agricultural productivity, but with the widespread use of pesticides, concerns have arisen about their potential negative impacts on human health and aquatic organisms. Pydiflumetofen (PYD) is a novel chiral fungicide, and the potential environmental and health hazards of PYD and its chiral isomers are not sufficiently understood. In this work, zebrafish were employed as a model organism to study the toxicity of PYD, specifically investigating the developmental and cardiovascular toxicities in zebrafish exposed to 0.2 μg/mL of PYD for 72 h. The results showed that PYD severely impeded the development of zebrafish embryos, resulting in abnormal hatching rates, enlarged yolk sacs and shortened body length. In addition, PYD resulted in morphological and functional abnormalities of the embryonic heart and blood vessels, such as pericardial edema, linearization of the heart, impeded vascular production, slowed heart rate, and reduced erythrocyte flow rate. Mechanistically, we found that PYD caused oxidative stress, lipid accumulation and apoptosis in zebrafish. Simultaneously, the expression of genes associated with cardiac (<em>nkx2.5</em>, <em>gata4</em>, <em>tbx5</em>, <em>hand2</em>, <em>has2</em>) and vascular (<em>vegfc</em>, <em>dll4</em>, <em>cdh5</em>, <em>hey2</em>, and <em>notch3</em>) development was altered. Notably, our results indicate that (+)-<em>R</em>-PYD exhibits higher developmental and cardiovascular toxicity than (−)-<em>S</em>-PYD. This paper first reveals the cardiovascular toxicity of PYD and opens new avenues for assessing the environmental and health hazards caused by chiral fungicides.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126819"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144611353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recent advances on iron bound phosphorus in wetland sediments: characteristics, influencing factors, interactions with organic matter and emerging contaminants","authors":"Yi Tao ,&nbsp;Shuai Ma ,&nbsp;Manman Cao ,&nbsp;Junhong Li ,&nbsp;Feng Wang ,&nbsp;Ziqi Gao ,&nbsp;Qing Xu ,&nbsp;Jing Guo ,&nbsp;Ke Sun ,&nbsp;Fei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126826","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126826","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phosphorus (P), as a key limiting element in wetland ecosystems, its occurrence forms, migration and transformation directly affect biological productivity and environmental safety. Among them, iron-bound phosphorus (Fe-P), as the most abundant reactive P form in sediments, dominates the bioavailability of P through the redox-driven dissolution-precipitation process. This work summarizes the data on P components in multiple wetlands around the world to illustrate the significant contribution of Fe-P to the endogenous P in sediments, it critically reviews the extraction, detection and quantification methods of sedimentary Fe-P, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. It also introduces the characteristics and distribution patterns of Fe-P in wetland ecosystems. Subsequently, the impacts of different factors are further analyzed, such as physical and chemical properties like temperature and dissolved oxygen, biological factors such as plants and benthic animals, and the composition of sediments on the release and migration processes of Fe-P. In addition, this work focuses on the interaction between Fe-P and organic matter in sediments, such as algae-derived organic matter and humic acid, as well as emerging contaminants like microplastics and antibiotics. This work looks forward to the future research of Fe-P in wetland sediments, with the hope of providing references for the regulation and management of wetland eutrophication status.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126826"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144612905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A modified QuEChERS method for extracting different classes of emerging contaminants in soil","authors":"Zizhao Zeng ,&nbsp;Hao Ding ,&nbsp;Xuwenqi Zhang ,&nbsp;Minmin Hou ,&nbsp;Chenglong Yang ,&nbsp;Xin Li ,&nbsp;Ying Li ,&nbsp;Pengfei Li ,&nbsp;Yali Shi ,&nbsp;Yaqi Cai","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126816","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126816","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Emerging contaminants (ECs) in soil pose concerns due to their potential health risks and toxicities. However, the pretreatment method for simultaneously extracting different classes of ECs was limited in soil. In this study, a rapid and robust pretreatment method based on a “Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS)” technology was developed for simultaneous extraction of 50 ECs, including 28 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), 17 organophosphate esters (OPEs) and 5 diesters (di-OPEs) in soil. Acetonitrile and methanol with a mixture of magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride were selected for extraction while C18 was chosen for purification. The method displayed acceptable accuracy and precision with recoveries at 70 %–120 % and relative standard deviations (RSD) below 20 % in most cases. Except for 4:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (4:2 FTS), the matrix effect values of other PFAS and di-OPEs ranged from 73 % to 123 %, while those of OPEs were within 30 %–93 %. With the addition of internal standards, the matrix effect of ECs can be well compensated except for tris (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP) and 4:2 FTS. The method detection limits of PFAS, OPEs and di-OPEs were 0.01–0.21 ng/g, 0.01–3.96 ng/g and 0.03–0.16 ng/g, respectively. Overall, this pretreatment method allows extracting different classes of contaminants from soil with a high throughput, and might be used in conjunction with non-target screening in the future to give a more comprehensive perspective of compounds in complex matrix.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126816"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144611354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exposure to toxic trace metals is negatively associated with testis mass in wild male roe deer","authors":"Pauline Vuarin ,&nbsp;Benjamin Rey ,&nbsp;Amandine Herrada ,&nbsp;François Débias ,&nbsp;Nadia Crini ,&nbsp;Renaud Scheifler ,&nbsp;Clémentine Fritsch ,&nbsp;Jean-François Lemaître ,&nbsp;Sonia Saïd","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126825","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126825","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although trace metal toxicity has been extensively studied in laboratory settings, its long-term effects on wildlife are poorly understood. Most wild animals are likely to be exposed to low doses of trace metals throughout their lives; however, whether such chronic exposure affects fitness-related traits in natural populations remains to be investigated. In this study, we tested the relationships between trace metal burden and sex hormones, primary and secondary sexual traits in wild male roe deer. Using samples collected from 71 hunted males, we measured the hair and liver concentrations of various toxic trace metals, faecal testosterone metabolites (FTM), testis mass and antler length. We focused on cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) in roe deer tissues. Using linear (mixed effects) models, we found that Cd and, to a lesser extent, Co concentrations in the liver, but not in hair, were negatively associated with absolute testicular mass, a proxy of sperm production. However, metal burden, measured in either the liver or hair, was not related to antler length or FTM levels, despite their respective roles in male competitiveness for access to females and the underlying adjustments for seasonal breeding. Hence, our findings highlight the consequences of exposure to Cd and Co on male testicular function in a wild ungulate. Any alteration in male competitiveness for fertilization is expected to have lasting fitness consequences, which could subsequently alter population dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126825"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144611355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comprehensive quantitative study of organic contaminants in marine plastics","authors":"Christina Kibuta ,&nbsp;Mario Schmidt ,&nbsp;Tanja Fell ,&nbsp;Frank Malz ,&nbsp;Andrea Buettner ,&nbsp;Martin Schlummer","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126827","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126827","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Marine plastics act as carriers for a wide range of chemical contaminants, many of which pose serious environmental and health risks. This study investigated organic contaminants such as benzotriazole UV stabilizers (BUVs), phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bisphenol A (BPA), and antioxidants in beach and ocean plastics collected from multiple geographic locations. A validated analytical method comprising solid-liquid extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (HPLC-UV) was employed for contaminant identification. Some detected compounds have been classified as persistent organic pollutants and substances of very high concern, including di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and UV-328. The highest levels of UV-328 detected in both ocean and beach plastics samples (1040 ± 22 μg/g and 5188 ± 65 ng/g respectively) exceeded permitted limits in plastic as set by European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Other contaminants such as chrysene (558 ± 3 ng/g), BPA (100 ± 1 μg/g) and antioxidant degradation products like tris (2,4-ditert-butylphenyl) phosphate were also detected in some marine plastic samples. Based on these findings, this study highlights the widespread occurrence of organic contaminants in marine plastics and their potential implications for second-life applications and environmental risk. These contaminants may also impact marine ecosystems through leaching and bioaccumulation, with possible consequences for human health via the food web. Overall, the study offers insights into informing policies on plastic waste management, recycling practices, and environmental protection measures aimed at mitigating the chemical hazards associated with marine plastic pollution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126827"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144612906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring PFRs, ROS, PAHs, nitro-PAHs, and health risks of the nonthermal plasma intervention size-segregated smoldering incense and mosquito coils aerosols","authors":"Yu-Chieh Wang ,&nbsp;Chia C. Wang ,&nbsp;Chon-Lin Lee ,&nbsp;Wei-Min Ching","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126820","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126820","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Persistent free radicals (PFRs) are emerging pollutants, and particulate matter (PM) containing PFRs can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may pose health risks. This study analyzes emissions of size-segregated aerosols from indoor sources, including incense and mosquito coils, during nonthermal plasma (NTP) intervention. The focus is on PM-bound PFRs, ROS, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs). The results show that emissions primarily consist of PM_2.5, with PM₁ being the dominant fraction within PM_2.5 (73–93 % PM_2.5). ROS analysis indicated that PM₁ generated OH, R, and H free radicals, while PM_1-2.5 generated only OH free radicals. NTP intervention reduced total suspended particles and PM_2.5 concentrations while lowering PFR concentrations in the air. Analysis of PAHs and nitro-PAHs indicated that reactive species produced by NTP promoted the formation of nitro-PAHs. A risk assessment using cigarette exposure equivalents showed that PFR exposure during worship was roughly equivalent to 0.0076 cigarettes. Using a personal NTP air purifier reduced exposure by 64 %. These findings highlight the health risks associated with indoor incense and mosquito coil use and emphasize the importance of NTP intervention in air purification strategies, providing valuable insights for improving air quality assessments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126820"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144611356","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Kelp mariculture enhances the burial ability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Evidence from Ailian Bay, China","authors":"Yuru Li,&nbsp;Yuqiang Tao","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126824","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126824","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Kelp mariculture plays an important role in carbon sequestration. Burial by coastal sediments is an important way to reduce the risk of organic contaminants. However, the influences of kelp mariculture-induced carbon dynamics on the organic contaminant burial remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated that long-term kelp (<em>Saccharina japonica</em>) mariculture has enhanced the burial ability (burial flux/emission density) of the sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in coastal sediments, as evidenced by the study from a mariculture base in Ailian Bay, China. We reconstructed the historical production of kelp mariculture in Ailian Bay by the kelp environment DNA (eDNA) in the sediment core. The quantity of kelp eDNA increased from 0.02 ± 0.01 to 0.06 ± 0.01 ng g⁻¹ in the period from 1989 to 2020 (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), indicating that kelp mariculture had expanded during this period. The total organic carbon (TOC) in the sediment core of Ailian Bay varied from 16.1 to 24.0 mg g⁻¹. The average burial ability of the individual PAHs varied from 0.01 ± 0.02 to 0.10 ± 0.10 in Ailian Bay. The expansion of kelp mariculture enhanced the content of TOC and the recalcitrant humic acid-like carbon components, which promoted the burial ability of the PAHs (except for naphthalene, fluorene, anthracene, and dibenzo[a,h]anthracene) in the period from 1989 to 2020. Kelp mariculture activities influenced more on the burial ability of the lower molecular weight PAHs than that of the higher molecular weight PAHs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126824"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144611405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Associations of per- and perfluoroalkyl substances with serum alanine and aspartate aminotransferase levels and the potential mediating role of cytokines in children","authors":"Songyan Huan ,&nbsp;Biao Zhang ,&nbsp;Kun Huang ,&nbsp;Huihua Yang ,&nbsp;Yuanyuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Jie Wang ,&nbsp;Miao Liu ,&nbsp;Xiaomin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126815","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126815","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Evidence on the association of per- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in children, and the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. This study aims to examine the associations of PFAS with ALT and AST, and the mediating role of cytokines in healthy children. A panel study was carried out using three repeated measurements of 11 plasma PFAS, serum ALT and AST, and 48 cytokines among 134 children in Wuhan, China. Linear mixed-effect models, Bayesian kernel machine regression, and weighted quantile sum regression were used to explore the individual and combined associations of PFAS with ALT and AST. The mediating function of cytokines in these associations was assessed using causal mediation analysis. Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA) were found to have dose-response relationships with elevated ALT. PFAS mixture was associated with increased ALT in two mixed exposure models, with PFHxS identified as the major contributor. Such associations of PFAS and ALT were more evident in children who were overweight or obese and consumed fish ≥1 day/week. An integrated analysis revealed a group of children with elevated ALT levels, characterized by high PFAS exposure and increased cytokine levels. Four cytokines, including CCL 4, CCL27, IL-2Rα, and IL-9, were found to be associated with elevated levels of PFNA, PFHxS, PFUnDA, and ALT. Among them, CCL27 and IL-9 mediated 8.96 % and 12.06 % of the association of PFHxS with ALT, respectively. Our findings suggested that PFAS exposure was positively associated with ALT, and CCL27 and IL-9 might partially mediate PFAS-associated increased ALT among children.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 126815"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144611407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}