Evaluation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in matched cat sera and house dust samples: Investigation of a potential link between PBDEs and spontaneous feline hyperthyroidism

Chow, K.N.; Hearn, Laurence; Zuber, Max; Beatty, Julia A.; Mueller, Jochen F.; Barrs, Vanessa R.

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2014.09.027

Cited by 34 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…14,15 Nonetheless, CA cat serum PBDE levels are still consistently higher than those in cats living elsewhere and sampled around the same time period. 32 As we hypothesized in our earlier report, 10 house dust may be the major source of PBDE exposure in household cats due to the time the cats spend on/ near the floor and grooming. CA house dust has among the highest PBDE levels in the world, 40 resulting from CA's unique flammability standard (Technical Bulletin 117).…”

Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Temporal Changes of PBDE Levels in California House Cats and a Link to Cat Hyperthyroidism

Guo

Gardner²,

Yen³

et al. 2016

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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In this study, we measured serum PBDE levels in California (CA) house cats during two time periods: 2008-2010 and 2012-2013 to assess the impacts of the decline in use of these materials after the bans. The median ∑19PBDE level in CA household cats (age ≥10 yr) was 3479 ng/g lipid in 2008-2010 (1st time period, n = 21) and 1518 ng/g lipid in 2012-2013 (2nd time period, n = 22), about 2 times lower than in the first time period (p = 0.006). In contrast, PCB and OCP levels showed no statistically significant changes. With better matched group size and age (HT = 11 vs non-HT = 11, age ≥10 yr) in the second time period, we found that ∑19PBDE level (mean ± SE ng/g lipid) was significantly higher in the HT group (3906 ± 1442) than those in the non-HT group (1125 ± 244) (p = 0.0030). Higher levels of PCBs and OCPs were also found in HT group. Despite the declines of PBDE levels, our findings indicate that the current levels of PBDEs, as well as PCBs and OCPs, may still pose health effects for house cats and, possibly, humans.

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Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Temporal Changes of PBDE Levels in California House Cats and a Link to Cat Hyperthyroidism

Guo

Gardner²,

Yen³

et al. 2016

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…While some found no evidence linking PBDE or PCB profiles to FH [25, 27], a few have reported indirect evidence linking PBDE or PCB exposure to FH despite not identifying differences in congener concentrations between hyperthyroid and control cats. These include elevated PBDEs in dust from houses containing hyperthyroid cats [35] and altered ratios of BDE100/BDE99 in hyperthyroid cats [26].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While commercial production of PCBs was banned in 1979 and two commercial formulations of PBDEs (pentaBDE and octaBDE) were banned or phased out of production in some states in the U.S. in 2006, these compounds remain ubiquitous environmental pollutants due to their resistance to degradation and ability to bioaccumulate in human and animal tissues [23, 24]. Previous studies have reported serum PBDE concentrations in cats that are 10–100 fold greater than median levels measured in adult human populations from their respective countries [25–28]. Therefore, domestic cats may serve as sentinels for adverse health consequences associated with exposure to these environmental contaminants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) with Hyperthyroidism in Domestic Felines, Sentinels for Thyroid Hormone Disruption

et al. 2017

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BackgroundHyperthyroidism is the most common endocrine disorder observed in domestic felines; however, its etiology is largely unknown. Two classes of persistent organic pollutants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are known to interfere with thyroid hormone (TH) signaling and regulation; thus, it is postulated that they contribute to the etiopathogenesis of feline hyperthyroidism and pose a risk to humans and other species. In this case-control study, the concentrations of 13 PBDE and 11 PCB congeners were measured by gas chromatography mass spectrometry in serum or plasma samples from 20 hyperthyroid and 31 control cats in order to investigate the association between concentration of PBDE and PCB congeners and feline hyperthyroidism. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine whether elevated concentrations of individual congeners were associated with a higher risk of feline hyperthyroidism.ResultsHyperthyroid cats had higher concentrations of four PBDE congeners (BDE17, BDE100, BDE47, and BDE49) and five PCB congeners (PCB131, PCB153, PCB174, PCB180, and PCB196), compared to control cats. In addition, the sum of both PBDE and PCB congener concentrations were elevated in the hyperthyroid group compared to control cats; however, only the increased PCB concentrations were statistically significant. The sum total PBDE concentrations in our feline samples were approximately 50 times greater than concentrations previously reported in human populations from a geographically similar area, whereas sum total PCB concentrations were comparable to those previously reported in humans.ConclusionsThese observational findings support the hypothesis that PBDEs and PCBs may contribute to the etiopathogenesis of hyperthyroidism in felines. As domestic house cats are often exposed to higher concentrations of PBDEs than humans, they may serve as sentinels for the risk of TH disruption that these pollutants pose to humans and other species.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-017-1031-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…This may explain why, although the profile of contamination between humans and cats are very similar, the concentrations of congeners are slightly (and significantly) higher in cats than in humans. Thus, due to their grooming habits, cats have been classically used to evaluate the level of human exposure to BDEs through the indoor dust (39). In this sense, a positive correlation between serum cat levels and dust has been consistently reported in the literature (34), although the serum levels tend to be several times higher in cats than in humans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Role of Pet Cats As a Sentinel Species for Human Exposure to Flame Retardants

et al. 2017

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Flame retardants are a wide group of chemicals used by the industry to avoid combustion of materials. These substances are commonly found in plastics, electronic equipment, fabrics, and in many other everyday articles. Subsequently, ubiquitous environmental contamination by these common chemical is frequently reported. In the present study, we have evaluated the level of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs), and organophosphorous flame retardants (OPFRs) in pet cats through the analysis of their serum. We also analyzed the level exposure to such chemicals in a series of 20 cat owners, trying to disclose the role of pet cats as sentinel species of human exposure to FRs. Our results showed that PCBs, banned 40 years ago, showed the lowest levels of exposure, followed by BDEs—banned recently. Congeners PCB-138 and PCB-180 were detected in ≥50% of the series, while BDE-47 was detected in near 90% of the pet cats. On the other hand, the highest levels were that of OPFRs, whose pattern of detection was similar to that observed in humans, thus suggesting a potential role of cats as a sentinel species for human exposure to these currently used FRs. Six out of 11 OPFRs determined [2-ethylhexyldiphenyl phosphate, tributylphosphate, triisobutylphosphate, triphenylphosphate, tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate, and tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate] were detected in 100% of the samples. It will be interesting to perform future studied aimed to elucidating the potential toxicological effects of these highly detected chemicals both, in cats and humans.

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Evaluation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in matched cat sera and house dust samples: Investigation of a potential link between PBDEs and spontaneous feline hyperthyroidism

Cited by 34 publications

References 36 publications

Temporal Changes of PBDE Levels in California House Cats and a Link to Cat Hyperthyroidism

Temporal Changes of PBDE Levels in California House Cats and a Link to Cat Hyperthyroidism

Association of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) with Hyperthyroidism in Domestic Felines, Sentinels for Thyroid Hormone Disruption

Potential Role of Pet Cats As a Sentinel Species for Human Exposure to Flame Retardants

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