This presentation, stemming from a CURES pilot project, will explore the effects of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), a group of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), on male fertility and offspring health. The session will begin with an overview of PFAS exposure and its health impacts by Dr. Katherine Roth from the Petriello lab. Following that, PhD candidate DruAnne Maxwell from the Pilsner lab will present findings from their collaborative pilot grant research. In this study, male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to a PFAS mixture for 18 weeks, and the resulting effects on sperm methylation and offspring metabolic tissues were analyzed. The results revealed significant changes in the sperm methylome, with thousands of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) associated with behavioral and developmental pathways. Additionally, gene expression analysis of the liver and fat in male and female offspring showed changes related to cholesterol metabolism, cell cycle regulation, and immune functions. These findings highlight how male PFAS exposure can induce sperm changes that affect the health of the next generation, with sex-specific outcomes in offspring.

Biographies:

DrunAnne Maxwell:  DruAnne Maxwell graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in 2020. During her studies, she worked at Dow Chemical, conducting elemental characterization using X-ray fluorescence. She also engaged in undergraduate research with Dr. Jason Scott, exploring genetic changes in the liver in response to different diets (ketogenic, western, and chow), along with their effects on the cardiovascular system. Starting her PhD in 2020, DruAnne initially studied the effects of Prostaglandin E2 on heart failure using various mouse models. She is currently working in Dr. Richard Pilsner’s lab, focusing on how endocrine-disrupting chemicals, particularly PFAS, affect male reproductive health and subsequent generations.

Dr. Rick Pilsner: Dr. Pilsner is a professor and the Robert J. Sokol, MD Endowed Chair of Molecular Obstetrics and Gynecology and serves as the associate director of the C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. Additionally, he holds a joint appointment with the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. His lab explores the intersection of environmental epidemiology, toxicology, and reproductive health, with a strong focus on epigenetic mechanisms. The research emphasizes the paternal role in reproductive and offspring health by examining how preconception environmental exposures affect sperm epigenetics. This work aims to clarify how paternal environmental factors influence early-life development and offspring health. Another major focus of the Pilsner lab is identifying novel sperm biomarkers that can predict male infertility and the reproductive success of couples.

Dr. Mike Petriello and Dr. Katherine Roth: Dr. Mike Petriello is an assistant professor in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Department of Pharmacology at Wayne State University.  He is an active member of CURES and our Superfund Research Center CLEAR and studies how halogenated pollutants can increase the risk of cardiometabolic disorders across the lifespan.  Dr. Petriello recruited postdoc Dr. Katherine Roth from Michigan State University in 2020 and Katherine has become a rising star in the environmental health sciences recently earning a prestigious F32 fellowship from NIEHS.  Her work focuses primarily on how PFAS mixtures can accelerate atherosclerosis risk by modulating bile acid and cholesterol metabolism.