Unraveling the mechanisms of subcellular oxidative stress triggered by PFAS exposure in thyroid cells

• Grant number: 24/20411-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Caroline Serrano Do Nascimento
• Grantee: Rafaela Martins Miguel de Souza
• Supervisor: Leticia Prates Roma
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/06102-4 - Effect of PFAS exposure on normal or cancer cell: an in vitro study, BP.IC

Abstract

The thyroid gland produces the hormones T3 and T4, which regulate growth, development, and metabolism. Alterations in its function can lead to metabolic disorders and other health issues. Thyroid cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the endocrine system, with papillary carcinoma being the most frequent type. Additionally, exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), has been associated with thyroid dysfunction and increased cancer risk. PFAS are widespread in the environment and disrupt thyroid hormone synthesis, secretion, and transport. PFAS exposure was previously associated with the induction of epigenetic and inflammatory changes that promote cancer in other tissues. Our previous results indicate that PFAS exposure increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human thyrocytes. ROS are involved in intracellular signaling and are produced in different cellular compartments. In fact, the unbalanced production of ROS was associated with the development of several diseases, including cancer. This project will focus on monitoring the subcellular location of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production in normal and tumorous thyrocytes exposed to PFAS. The results will provide a deeper understanding of the cellular mechanisms involved in PFAS-induced disruption in thyroid cells. The research will be conducted at Universität des Saarlandes in Germany, under the supervision of Professor Dr. Leticia Prates Roma, a leading expert in the field of ROS. This investigation will certainly enrich and complement the main research project objectives developed in Brazil, as well as enable the establishment of a new study model in our laboratory.