Hepatic injury and ileitis associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis in mice upon F–53B exposure

Chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (F–53B), a substitute of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), has attracted significant attention for its link to hepatotoxicity and enterotoxicity. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms of F–53B-induced enterohepatic toxicity remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to explore the role of F–53B exposure on enterohepatic injury based on the gut microbiota, pathological and molecular analysis in mice. Here, we exposed C57BL/6 mice to F–53B (0, 4, 40, and 400 μg/L) for 28 days. Our findings revealed a significant accumulation of F–53B in the liver, followed by small intestines, and feces. In addition, F–53B induced pathological collagen fiber deposition and lipoid degeneration, up-regulated the expression of fatty acid β-oxidation-related genes (PPARα and PPARγ, etc), while simultaneously down-regulating pro-inflammatory genes (Nlrp3, IL-1β, and Mcp1) in the liver. Meanwhile, F–53B induced ileal mucosal barrier damage, and an up-regulation of pro-inflammatory genes and mucosal barrier-related genes (Muc1, Muc2, Claudin1, Occludin, Mct1, and ZO-1) in the ileum. Importantly, F–53B distinctly altered gut microbiota compositions by increasing the abundance of Akkermansia and decreasing the abundance of Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group in the feces. F–53B-altered microbiota compositions were significantly associated with genes related to fatty acid β-oxidation, inflammation, and mucosal barrier. In summary, our results demonstrate that F–53B is capable of inducing hepatic injury, ileitis, and gut microbiota dysbiosis in mice, and the gut microbiota dysbiosis may play an important role in the F–53B-induced enterohepatic toxicity.