Due to their unique properties, perfluorinated substances (PFAS) are widely used in multiple industrial and commercial applications, but they are toxic for animals, humans included. This review presents some available data on the PFAS environmental distribution in the world, and in particular in Europe and in the Veneto region of Italy, where it has become a serious problem for human health. The consumption of contaminated food and drinking water is considered one of the major source of exposure for humans. Worldwide epidemiological studies report the negative effects that PFAS have on human health, due to environmental pollution, including infertility, steroid hormone perturbation, thyroid, liver and kidney disorders, and metabolic disfunctions. In vitro and in vivo researches correlated PFAS exposure to oxidative stress effects (in mammals as well as in other vertebrates of human interest), produced by a PFAS-induced increase of reactive oxygen species formation. The cellular antioxidant defense system is activated by PFAS, but it is only partially able to avoid the oxidative damage to biomolecules.

In the present study, we describe the purification and molecular characterization of Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) from Chionodraco hamatus, an Antarctic teleost widely distributed in many areas of the Ross Sea that plays a pivotal role in the Antarctic food chain. The primary sequence was obtained using biochemical and molecular biology approaches and compared with Cu,Zn SODs from other organisms. Multiple sequence alignment using the amino acid sequence revealed that Cu,Zn SOD showed considerable sequence similarity with its orthologues from various vertebrate species, but also some specific substitutions directly linked to cold adaptation. Phylogenetic analyses presented the monophyletic status of Antartic Teleostei among the Perciformes, confirming the erratic differentiation of these proteins and concurring with the theory of the “unclock-like” behavior of Cu,Zn SOD evolution. Expression of C. hamatus Cu,Zn SOD at both the mRNA and protein levels were analyzed in various tissues, highlighting the regulation of gene expression related to environmental stress conditions and also animal physiology. The data presented are the first on the antioxidant enzymes of a fish belonging to the Channichthyidae family and represent an important starting point in understanding the antioxidant systems of these organisms that are subject to constant risk of oxidative stress.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have multiple emission sources, from industrial to domestic, and their high persistence and mobility help them to spread in all the networks of watercourses. Diffuse pollution of these compounds can be potentially mitigated by the application of green infrastructures, which are a pillar of the EU Green Deal. In this context, a phytoremediation pilot plant was realised and supplied by a contaminated well-located in Lonigo (Veneto Region, Italy) where surface and groundwaters were significantly impacted by perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) discharges from a fluorochemical factory. The investigation involved the detection of perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) inside the inlet and outlet waters of the phytoremediation pilot plant as well as in reed grasses grown into its main tank. The obtained results demonstrate that the pilot plant is able to reduce up to 50% of considered PFAAs in terms of mass flow without an evident dependence on physico-chemical characteristics of these contaminants. Moreover, PFAAs were found in the exposed reed grasses at concentrations up to 13 ng g⁻¹ ww. A positive correlation between PFAA concentration in plants and exposure time was also observed. In conclusion, this paper highlights the potential efficiency of phytodepuration in PFAS removal and recommends improving the knowledge about its application in constructed wetlands as a highly sustainable choice in wastewater remediation.