Blogs

This blog is being shared under the SOT Secretary’s name as part of their official duties and should not be interpreted as their personal or professional opinions.   

This blog was written by Talia Sager.

During the 2026 Poster Session “Late-Breaking 3,” I spoke with Shaligram Sharma, PhD, UL Research Institutes’ Chemical Insights, about the work presented in his poster, “Disruption of Melanin Synthesis and Cellular Stress Pathways in Melanocytes Following PFAS Exposure.” The study explores emerging and critical questions: how do PFAS chemicals alter melanocyte biology, and how does this vary across racial backgrounds?

PFAS, known for their widespread environmental persistence and systemic toxicity, have recently been linked to increased melanoma risk and altered skin physiology, raising concerns about their pigmentation biology impact. The research team set out to investigate whether PFAS influence melanin production, oxidative stress, and gene expression in melanocytes, from single donor cell lines, derived from Asian, Black, and Caucasian donors.

Their experimental approach exposed primary melanocytes to six individual PFAS and a composite mixture at low (10nM) and high (10uM) doses. After 24 hours of exposure, researchers measured cell viability, melanin content, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and gene expression. Across all backgrounds, PFAS disrupted the melanogenic axis, indicating shifts in pigment production and redox balance. Higher doses tended to suppress melanin-generating pathways, suggesting a PFAS-induced melanogenic repression.

Importantly, responses varied by background. Asian and Caucasian melanocytes showed stronger oxidative stress signals, while Black melanocytes exhibited a more buffered redox response, potentially due to higher baseline melanin levels. These findings underscore that PFAS-associated melanoma susceptibility may differ across populations, shaped by intrinsic transcriptional architecture and melanin-mediated antioxidant capacity.

This study highlights an urgent need to understand how PFAS may quietly reshape melanoma risk long before disease ever develops.

This blog reports on the Poster Session titled “Late-Breaking 3” that was held during the 2026 SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo.

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