Angela Slitt
University of Rhode Island, RI·Pharmacology
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are fluorine-rich chemicals found in food packaging, textiles and non-stick cookware. Once inside people, some of them stay for years.
- Fields
Pharmacology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Physiology
- Topics
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
forever chemicals
albumin
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Feb 2030
What they work on
- Determine whether albumin controls PFAS distribution among blood and tissues and their elimination half-lives, by comparing PFAS accumulation in albumin-knockout (Alb-/-) and wild-type mice.
- Quantify binding of novel and emerging PFAS to tissues from mice with and without albumin and to human plasma with disease-related protein changes, using in vitro binding assays, and assess immunoglobulin binding.
- Test whether loss of albumin increases PFOS-induced fatty acid uptake by the liver and steatosis (fatty liver), using albumin-deficient mice.
- Predict how genetic and disease-related variation in albumin and globulin levels affects human PFAS accumulation and liver risk, using a physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) model.
More about the research
Long-chain PFAS such as PFOS have blood half-lives of about 3–8 years. PFOS exposure is linked to liver damage, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and disrupted fat metabolism. A leading explanation for this long persistence is that PFAS cling tightly to proteins in blood and tissue. Albumin, the most abundant blood protein, is the main suspect. Until now, though, that idea has rested on test-tube studies with purified protein.
Why it matters
PFAS are widespread and linger in the human body for years. Pinning down which blood proteins hold them, and whether albumin influences their liver toxicity, could help identify people at higher risk of PFAS-related liver disease. Examples include people whose blood protein levels are altered by genetics or illness. The results could also improve the models used to assess PFAS exposure.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Vaia Lida Chatzi
University of Southern California, CA·Public Health & Epidemiology
Examine associations of PFAS exposure with omics biomarkers and with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and MASLD (fatty liver disease) in more than 50,000 participants from 18 diverse cohorts.
Ren Zhang
Wayne State University, MI·Biochemistry
Determine whether MNADK, the mitochondrial NAD kinase, preserves liver energy balance and insulin sensitivity and reduces risk of NASH and type 2 diabetes, using genetically engineered mouse models.
Banrida Wahlang
University of Louisville, KY·Pharmacology
Determine how exposure to a mixture of persistent organic pollutants, built to match current human exposure patterns, causes liver and metabolic damage differently in males and females.
The school
University of Rhode Island: 9 labs on PI Pages, $137M a year on research, 93 research doctorates a year.
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