In a new study, researchers found that the PFAS chemical GenX suppresses the neutrophil respiratory burst – the method white blood cells known as neutrophils use to kill invading pathogens.
In a new study, researchers found that the PFAS chemical GenX suppresses the neutrophil respiratory burst – the method white blood cells known as neutrophils use to kill invading pathogens. The study is an important first step in understanding how both legacy and emerging PFAS chemicals might affect the body’s innate immune system.
PFAS are a class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals used to make consumer and industrial products more resistant to water, stains and grease. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there are more than 12,000 known PFAS, which also include fluoroethers such as GenX.
“It’s pretty well-established that PFAS are toxic to the adaptive immune system, but there hasn’t been as much research done on their effects on the innate immune system,” says Drake Phelps, former Ph.D, student at North Carolina State University and first author of the study.
The human immune system has two branches: adaptive and innate. The adaptive branch contains T cells and B cells that “remember” pathogens the body has encountered, but it is slow to mount a defense, acting days – sometimes weeks – after it detects a pathogen.
Read more at North Carolina State University
