A Poster Session on Persistent Organic Pollutants was held on March 27, 2014 during the 53rd SOT Annual Meeting, held this year in Phoenix, Arizona. A summary of this session is provided below.
On 
the last half day of the 53rd SOT Annual Meeting, the final poster sessions were held. Twelve different poster sessions, to be exact, close to 400 posters. And surprisingly, there were crowds of people in attendance, discussing research and upcoming travel plans.
One of those sessions was about Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). As the name implies, they have been, are, and will be of research interest for toxicologist. The research directions presented were very diverse, so it is really hard to summarize what the session was about. Here are a few highlights of the posters presented in this sesssion:
- TCDD exposure to already injured liver is, literally, adding "insult to the injury." It shows that the consequences of consecutive exposures need to considered in future research.
- PCB 126 reduces adipocyte differentiation, with the effect being far more potent if exposure happens during the predifferentiation state, not during differentiation. It points to the importance of the timing of exposure, a factor not always considerd.
- The cytotoxicity of PAH was found to depend on the composition of the mixture. The single components and the binary mixtures of those with benzo(a)pyrene were tested, and, depending on the compound, the antagonism, synergism, and additive effects were reported. It makes predicting behavior of more complex mixtures quite a task!
- Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) causes lipid accumulation in the liver, the effect of which can be reversed by choline dietary supplement. The effect is more pronounced in males, making females prone to worse health outcomes from exposure.
- In another study, PFOS was found to interfere with liver functions even under a calorie–restricted diet, which is significantly reducing the health benefits from losing weight in order to reduce fatty liver disease.
- Two similar chemicals—bisphenol A (BPA) and its brominated homolog (tetrabromobisphenol, TBPA) affect excitation and contraction coupling of skeletal muscles. However, the two molecules do it through different mechanisms. Thus, depending on what assays are chosen to look at the same biological endpoint, the interpretation might differ.
For additional information about this session, please visit the SOT 2014 Annual Meeting Mobile Event Website.