To investigate the reproductive toxicity of potassium perfluorooctane sulfonate(PFOS-K) on peripubertal male rats.

Based on a previous experiment using peripubertal male rats exposed to PFOS-K, total testicular proteins were extracted from the control group and the PFOS-K-exposed group(18 mg·kg^–1·bw^–1). For each group (n=15 per group), tissues from 5 animals were pooled in equal proportions,resulting in 3 samples per group. Proteomic analysis was performed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to identify protein differences, and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) database was used for pathway enrichment analysis.

A total of 3320 proteins were identified, of which 213 were differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), including 102 significantly downregulated and 111 significantly upregulated proteins. PFOS-K exposure led to the downregulation of protein clusters such as Col14a1-Col6a5-Col12a1, Fn1-Col6a5-Col6a2, and key proteins involved in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Meanwhile, PFOS-K induced the upregulation of protein clusters including Upf2-Pym1-Casc3-Wdr33, Nup107-Upf2-Pym1-Casc3, Cul4b-Rfc3-Polr2i and Gtf2e1-Taf7l.

PFOS-K inhibits the expression of proteins related to protein synthesis pathways, cytoskeletal structure and cell adhesion and downregulates key proteins in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Simultaneously, PFOS-K upregulates proteins involved in RNA metabolic regulation, nucleocytoplasmic transport and DNA damage repair.