Mercaptoamine-assisted Post-encapsulation of Metal Nanoparticles within Preformed Zeolites and their Analogues for Hydroisomerization and Methane Decomposition.

We report a general synthetic strategy for post-encapsulation of metal nanoparticles within preformed zeolites using post-synthetic modification. Both anionic and cationic precursors to metal nanoparticle are supported on 8- and 10-membered ring zeolites and analogues during wet impregnation using 2-aminoethanethiol (AET) as a bi-grafting agent. Thiol groups are coordinated to metal centers, whereas amine moieties are dynamically attached to micropore walls via acid-base interactions. The dynamic acid-base interactions cause the even distribution of the metal-AET complex throughout the zeolite matrix. These processes encapsulate Au, Rh, and Ni precursors within the CHA, *MRE, MFI zeolite, and SAPO-34 zeolite analogues, for which small channel apertures preclude the post-synthesis impregnation of metal precursors. Sequential activation forms small and uniform nanoparticles (1-2.5 nm in diameter), as confirmed through electron microscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Containment within the small micropores protected the nanoparticles against harsh thermal sintering conditions and prevented the fouling of the metal surface by coke, thus resulting in a high catalytic performance in n-dodecane hydroisomerization and methane decomposition. The remarkable specificity of the thiol to metal precursors and the dynamic acid-base interaction make these protocols extendable to various metal-zeolite systems, suitable for shape-selective catalysts in challenging chemical environments.

First successful synthesis of an Al-rich mesoporous aluminosilicate for fast radioactive strontium capture.

Al-rich zeolites such as NaA (Si/Al = 1.00) have been widely applied to remove radioactive 90Sr2+ because of their high surface charge density enabling efficient ion-exchange of multivalent cations. However, due to the small micropore diameters of zeolites and large molecular size of strongly hydrated Sr2+, Sr2+-exchange with zeolites suffers from very slow kinetics. In principle, mesoporous aluminosilicates with low Si/Al ratios close to unity and tetrahedrally coordinated Al sites can exhibit both high capacity and fast kinetics in Sr2+-exchange. Nonetheless, the synthesis of such materials has not been realized yet. In this study, we demonstrate the first successful synthesis of an Al-rich mesoporous silicate (ARMS) using a cationic organosilane surfactant as an efficient mesoporogen. The material exhibited a wormhole-like mesoporous structure with a high surface area (851 m2 g-1) and pore volume (0.77 cm3 g-1), and an Al-rich framework (Si/Al = 1.08) with most Al sites tetrahedrally coordinated. Compared to commercially applied NaA, ARMS exhibited a dramatically improved Sr2+-exchange kinetics (>33-fold larger rate constant) in batch adsorption while showing similarly high Sr2+ capture capacity and selectivity. Due to the fast Sr2+-exchange kinetics, the material also exhibited 3.3-fold larger breakthrough volume than NaA in fixed-bed continuous adsorption.

Bottom-up synthesis of two-dimensional carbon with vertically aligned ordered micropores for ultrafast nanofiltration.

Two-dimensional (2D) carbon materials perforated with uniform micropores are considered ideal building blocks to fabricate advanced membranes for molecular separation and energy storage devices with high rate capabilities. However, creating high-density uniform micropores in 2D carbon using conventional perforation methods remains a formidable challenge. Here, we report a zeolite-templated bottom-up synthesis of ordered microporous 2D carbon. Through rational analysis of 255 zeolite structures, we find that the IWV zeolite having large 2D microporous channels and aluminosilicate compositions can serve as an ideal template for carbon replication. The resulting carbon is made of an extremely thin polyaromatic backbone and contains well-defined vertically aligned micropores (0.69 nm in diameter). Its areal pore density (0.70 nm-2) is considerably greater than that of porous graphene (<0.05 nm-2) prepared using top-down perforation methods. The isoporous membrane fabricated by assembling the exfoliated 2D carbon nanosheets exhibits outstanding permeance and molecular sieving properties in organic solvent nanofiltration.

In Situ Mapping and Local Negative Uptake Behavior of Adsorbates in Individual Pores of Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Herein, we report the adsorbate behavior in individual local pores of MIL-101, which is a metal-organic framework (MOF) with two heterogeneous mesopores and different metal sites, by combining adsorbate isotherms and in situ crystallography profiles. The in situ mapping shows that the substrate-adsorbate interaction affects the initial adsorption and pore condensation steps. The monolayer adsorption gradient changes greatly depending on the framework metal-adsorbate attraction force. Also, broad inflection points are found in adsorption isotherms, and the initial shape depends on the different metals. Besides, the capillary condensation at a pore draws adsorbates from other local pores. This leads to the local negative uptake behavior in individual pore isotherms. At higher pressure, they move to a larger space, whereas in a relatively low-pressure range the attraction force between the MOF framework and guest molecule influences the amount of rearranged guest molecules. Furthermore, the origin of the characteristic adsorption behavior based on the metals constituting the MOFs and the relative strength of substrate-adsorbate and adsorbate-adsorbate interactions are elucidated through the combined study of electron densities in pores, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy spectra, and density functional theory and Monte Carlo simulations to uncover the previously veiled information on adsorption behavior.

Postsynthetic Modification of Zeolite Internal Surface for Sustainable Capture of Volatile Organic Compounds under Humid Conditions.

Although low-cost, high-surface-area crystalline aluminosilicate zeolites have been recognized as promising adsorbents for the capture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), their hydrophilic nature leads to a significant loss of performance owing to the ubiquitous presence of water vapor in the VOC stream. Herein, the aluminosilicate zeolites (i.e., mordenite and nanocrystalline ß) are functionalized via a solvothermal post-treatment with methyl iodide as the grafting agent. The methyl groups are primarily attached to the zeolite internal surface via covalent bonding between internal bridging O and -CH3, as evidenced by multiple analysis data. The static isotherms and diffusional studies clearly reveal a remarkable decrease in both the rate of water adsorption and the water affinity due to the attachment of methyl groups to the micropore walls, thus enhancing the water tolerance compared to that of pristine zeolites. In addition, CH3I-functionalized zeolites are investigated as adsorbents for the removal of benzene under dry and humid conditions, and their performance is compared to that of CH3Si(-OCH3)3-functionalized zeolites, wherein the methyl groups have been grafted onto the external surface. The results demonstrate that, although the benzene adsorption capacity under dry conditions is decreased upon internal surface functionalization, the loss of VOC adsorption capacity in the presence of H2O vapor is effectively prevented. By contrast, external surface functionalization is ineffective for preventing the negative effects of moisture upon the benzene adsorption capacity. As a result, CH3I-functionalized zeolites exhibit superior dynamic adsorption performance for benzene at 318 K under humid conditions (relative humidity: 80%), with a saturated adsorption capacity of 64.9 mg g-1. This work provides an easy strategy for tailoring the adsorption properties of aluminosilicate zeolites for adsorption/separation and other advanced applications.

Post-Synthesis Functionalization Enables Fine-Tuning the Molecular-Sieving Properties of Zeolites for Light Olefin/Paraffin Separations.

Zeolite molecular sieves are widely used in gas separation and shape-selective catalysis, but these applications often require discriminating differences as little as 0.1 Å. Molecular sieving with such size selectivity demands zeolites with highly tunable pore diameters and adsorption properties, which are technically challenging to prepare. Nevertheless, it is shown that a wide range of organic functional groups can be covalently functionalized onto the interior pore walls of the zeolites, MOR, LTL, FAU, and MFI, to systematically "tune" their effective pore diameters with respect to the size of organic groups. For organic functionalization, small and aggressive organic electrophiles are used (e.g., organo-halide and -diazonium) as grafting agents, which are accessible to the intracrystalline void space, forming a C-Ozeolite bond in a reaction with a bridging oxygen as proved by multiple analysis data. It is demonstrated that the post-functionalization can be used to tailor the molecular sieving action of a parent zeolite to give size-selective adsorbents for light olefin/paraffin separations. 4-Methoxybenzene-functionalized MOR separates ethylene from ethane with an ideal-adsorbed-solution-theory selectivity of ≈5873, whereas toluene-grafted MOR completely separates propylene/propane mixtures. Therefore, tailoring the molecular-sieving properties of zeolites by organic functionalization broadens their applications to challenging separations.

Physicochemical Understanding of the Impact of Pore Environment and Species of Adsorbates on Adsorption Behaviour.

For a better design of adsorbents, it is important to know the intermolecular interaction among adsorbates and host material, leading to improved guest selectivity and uptake capacity. In this study, we demonstrate the influence of the interaction among adsorbates and substrate, controlled by the pore environment and species of adsorbates, on the adsorption behaviour. We report the unique CO2 adsorption behaviour of MOF-205 due to distinct pore geometry. The precise analysis through gas-adsorption crystallography with molecular simulation shows that capillary condensation of CO2 in MOF-205 occurs preferentially in the large dodecahedral pore rather than the small tetrahedral pore, because the interaction of CO2 with MOF-205 framework is weaker than that among CO2 molecules, while Ar and N2 are sequentially filled into two different pores of MOF-205 according to their size. Comparison of the materials with different pore environments reveals that the relative strength of the adsorbate-adsorbate and adsorbate-substrate interaction gives rise to different shapes of isotherms.

The Role of Dopamine Receptor D2 in Bridging the Intention-Behavior Gap in Sport Participation.

Previous studies have identified that a behavior can occur through the strongest predictor intention, but there is a gap between intention and behavior. Dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) is known to account for a variance in sporting behaviors in human and animal subjects. However, the relationship between DRD2 and sport participation has been poorly studied, and the limited available reports are inconsistent. The present study was performed to examine the impact of DRD2 on sport participation among Korean university students based on the integrated behavioral model (IBM). Data were collected from enrolled university students in Seoul (N = 45). Participants answered survey questions first, and then they gave investigators their hair to provide DNA information (i.e., the A1 allele of DRD2). DRD2 had a significant effect on sport participation, but only in male students. Male students who carried the A1 allele of DRD2 significantly participated in 105.10 min more sporting activities than male students who did not. Moreover, the effect of intention on sport participation was significantly decreased when considering DRD2. Despite the small sample size, the results of this study could be a preliminary case for a larger study and indicate the direction of future research. Our results suggest that DRD2 may have played an important role as the "actual skill" shown in the IBM.

Relationship between zeolite structure and capture capability for radioactive cesium and strontium.

Zeolites are widely used for capturing radioactive Cs+ and Sr2+, but the important structural factors determining their performance have not been clearly understood. To investigate the structure-property relationship, we prepared thirteen zeolites with various structures and Si/Al ratios. Ion-exchange experiments revealed that Cs+ exhibited an enhanced affinity to zeolites with high Si/Al ratios, which could be explained by the dielectric theory. Notably, zeolites containing 8-membered ring (8MR) showed extra-high Cs+ selectivity. Structural analysis using X-ray diffraction proved that Cs+ with an ionic diameter of 3.6 Å was selectively coordinated within 8MR having a cavity diameter of 3.6-4.1 Å. Such unique size-selective Cs+ coordination is analogous to ion complexation by macrocyclic organic ligands (e.g., crown ethers). Divalent Sr2+ showed decreasing affinity to zeolites as the Si/Al ratio increased, because of the increasing average Al-Al distance distribution. Sr2+ exchange exhibited an insignificant dependence on zeolite structures due to its strong hydration, which inhibited close interaction with zeolite frameworks. In terms of kinetics, Sr2+ exchange was significantly slower than Cs+ exchange because of the bulkiness of hydrated Sr2+ ions. Therefore, the micropore channels with large apertures (e.g., 12-membered ring) were beneficial for achieving fast ion-exchange kinetics, especially in the case of Sr2+.

Filling metal-organic framework mesopores with TiO2 for CO2 photoreduction.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)1-3 are known for their specific interactions with gas molecules4,5; this, combined with their rich and ordered porosity, makes them promising candidates for the photocatalytic conversion of gas molecules to useful products6. However, attempts to use MOFs or MOF-based composites for CO2 photoreduction6-13 usually result in far lower CO2 conversion efficiency than that obtained from state-of-the-art solid-state or molecular catalysts14-18, even when facilitated by sacrificial reagents. Here we create 'molecular compartments' inside MOF crystals by growing TiO2 inside different pores of a chromium terephthalate-based MOF (MIL-101) and its derivatives. This allows for synergy between the light-absorbing/electron-generating TiO2 units and the catalytic metal clusters in the backbones of MOFs, and therefore facilitates photocatalytic CO2 reduction, concurrent with production of O2. An apparent quantum efficiency for CO2 photoreduction of 11.3 per cent at a wavelength of 350 nanometres is observed in a composite that consists of 42 per cent TiO2 in a MIL-101 derivative, namely, 42%-TiO2-in-MIL-101-Cr-NO2. TiO2 units in one type of compartment in this composite are estimated to be 44 times more active than those in the other type, underlining the role of precise positioning of TiO2 in this system.

Effects of treadmill exercise on the regulation of tight junction proteins in aged mice.

Tight junction protein is representative regulator of gut permeability. Also, it has been noted for controlling inflammatory responses through tight junction. Therefore, in this study, we examined that whether tight junction protein is changed in aged mice, and to further, confirmed the effect of treadmill exercise on the tight junction protein. In in vitro study, doxorubicin that induces cell senescence was treated to Caco2 cells (colon cell) to mimic aging effect. After that, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-ß-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR), exercise mimic chemical that stimulates AMPK level, was also administered to Caco2 cells. In animal study, 2 months and 21 months C57BL/6 J mouse were treated with treadmill exercise for 4 weeks (YE = 5, OE = 5). Then, the tight junction protein expression level was examined by western blot. Also, serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and zonulin level were analyzed to identify gut permeability. In vitro studies showed that doxorubicin downregulates tight junction protein expression levels in Caco2 cell, and also AICAR treatment upregulates tight junction protein expression levels. In animal study, 4 weeks treadmill exercise upregulated claudin-1 (p < 0.05) and occludin (p < 0.01) protein expression level in 21 months old mice. Also, zonula occluden-1 (ZO-1) protein expression level was not significant difference among all mice group. In addition, old mice group had higher level of serum LPS compared to young mice group, but the level was downregulated in both 2 months and 21 months mice group after four weeks of treadmill exercise. Zonulin, which is known as degrading tight junction protein, is not significantly changed by both age and exercise. This study compared that tight junction protein expression level in old mice compared to its level in young mice, and also clarified that the effect of treadmill exercise on tight junction protein in both young and old mice.

Neural maturation enhanced by exercise-induced extracellular derivatives.

Physical activity has profound effects on neuronal progenitor cell growth, differentiation, and integration, but the mechanism for these effects is still ambiguous. Using a mouse model, we investigated the effects of two weeks of treadmill running on the dynamics of the size distribution and miRNA profiles of serum extracellular derivatives (EDs) using particle-sizing analysis and small RNA sequencing. We found that an increased average diameter of EDs in the running group compared with the sedentary group (p < 0.05), and 16 miRNAs were significantly altered (p < 0.05) in the running group. Furthermore, functional annotation analysis of differentially expressed miRNA-predicted target genes showed that many of these target genes are involved in the PI3K-Akt pathway. Exercise-induced serum EDs increased Neuro2A cell viability and Akt phosphorylation. We also found that expression levels of neuronal maturation markers such as Microtubule-Associated Protein 2 (MAP2ab) and Neuronal nuclei (NeuN) were increased (p < 0.05, respectively), and that inhibition of the PI3K-Akt pathway by LY294002 pre-treatment ameliorated their expression in Neuro2A cells. Finally, the administration of exercise-induced EDs for 3 days increased the Histone 3 phosphorylation and ß-III tubulin expression in Ink/Arf null neural stem cells and progenitors (NSPCs) under each proliferation and differentiation condition. These results suggest that exercise-induced circulating EDs may mediate neuronal maturation during exercise.

Lactate consumption mediates repeated high-intensity interval exercise-enhanced executive function in adult males.

PURPOSE: Lactate is a principal energy substrate for the brain during exercise. A single bout of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) can increase the blood lactate level, brain lactate uptake, and executive function (EF). However, repeated HIIE can attenuate exercise-induced increases in lactate level and EF. The lactate levels in the brain and blood are reported to be correlated with exercise-enhanced EF. However, research is yet to explain the cause-and-effect relationship between lactate and EF. This study examined whether lactate consumption improves the attenuated exerciseenhanced EF caused by repeated HIIE. METHODS: Eleven healthy men performed two sets of HIIE, and after each set, 30 min were given for rest and examination. In the 2nd set, the subjects consumed experimental beverages containing (n = 6) and not containing (n = 5) lactate. Blood, cardiovascular, and psychological variables were measured, and EF was evaluated by the computerized color-word Stroop test. RESULTS: The lactate group had a higher EF (P < 0.05) and tended to have a higher blood lactate level (P = 0.082) than the control group in the 2nd set of HIIE. Moreover, blood lactate concentration was correlated with the interference score (i.e., reverse score of EF) (r = -0.394; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the attenuated exercise-enhanced EF after repeated HIIE can be improved through lactate consumption. However, the role of lactate needs to be elucidated in future studies, as it can be used for improving athletes' performance and also in cognitive decline-related clinical studies.

Exercise-induced changes of gene expression in the cerebellum of aged mice.

PURPOSE: Exercise has been prescribed to the elderly based on its effect on increasing muscle strength and protein synthesis that prevent sense of balance and/or cognitive functions. However, a few molecular mechanism researches has been conducted on how the vestibular organs, cerebellum, and hippocampus, which are responsible for the deterioration and balance of spatial learning memory due to aging, are affected by exercise. METHODS: The 9-week old and 84-week old C57Bl/6 were assigned randomly to Young-Control (YC), Young-Exercise (YE), Old-Control (OC) and Old-Exercise (OE) groups for 4 -week treadmill running. A Rotarod test was used to evaluate motor coordination function. Moreover, a high-throughput whole transcript expression RNA array approach was applied to the cerebellum of aged mice to explain the novel molecular mechanism of beneficial effect of exercise. RESULTS: As results, the motor coordination function was significantly improved in exercise-aged mice. The RNA sequencing analysis showed that the expression of cerebellar genes was significantly changed by aging rather than exercise. Especially, Cers1 was up-regulated in sedentary aged mice and down-regulated in exercise aged mice. Fumonisin B1, inhibition of Cers1, mitigates neuronal cell death induced by doxorubicin. CONCLUSION: These results provide unraveling specific transcripts and understanding of the exercise-related cerebellum transcriptome in aged mice. Well-designed exercise program might prevent the motor coordination defect in aged model, which development of the exercise protocol for elderly population based on these markers.

Isotherms of individual pores by gas adsorption crystallography.

Accurate measurements and assessments of gas adsorption isotherms are important to characterize porous materials and develop their applications. Although these isotherms provide knowledge of the overall gas uptake within a material, they do not directly give critical information concerning the adsorption behaviour of adsorbates in each individual pore, especially in porous materials in which multiple types of pore are present. Here we show how gas adsorption isotherms can be accurately decomposed into multiple sub-isotherms that correspond to each type of pore within a material. Specifically, two metal-organic frameworks, PCN-224 and ZIF-412, which contain two and three different types of pore, respectively, were used to generate isotherms of individual pores by combining gas adsorption measurements with in situ X-ray diffraction. This isotherm decomposition approach gives access to information about the gas uptake capacity, surface area and accessible pore volume of each individual pore, as well as the impact of pore geometry on the uptake and distribution of different adsorbates within the pores.

Aggregation-free gold nanoparticles in ordered mesoporous carbons: toward highly active and stable heterogeneous catalysts.

A coordination-assisted synthetic approach is reported here for the synthesis of highly active and stable gold nanoparticle catalysts in ordered mesoporous carbon materials using triblock copolymer F127 as a structure-directing agent, thiol-containing silane as a coordination agent, HAuCl4 as a gold source, and phenolic resin as a carbon source. Upon carbonization, the gold precursor becomes reduced to form monodispersed Au nanoparticles of ca. 9.0 nm, which are entrapped or confined by the "rigid" mesoporous carbonaceous framework. Nanoparticle aggregation is inhibited even at a high temperature of 600 °C. After removal of the silica component, the materials possess the ordered mesostructure, high surface area (~1800 m(2)/g), large pore volume (~1.19 cm(3)/g), and uniform bimodal mesopore size (<2.0 and 4.0 nm). The monodispersed gold nanoparticles are highly exposed because of the interpenetrated bimodal pores in the carbon framework, which exhibit excellent catalytic performance. A completely selective conversion of benzyl alcohol in water to benzoic acid can be achieved at 90 °C and 1 MPa oxygen. Benzyl alcohol can also be quantitatively converted to benzoic acid at 60 °C even under an atmospheric pressure, showing great advantages in green chemistry. The catalysts are stable, poison resistant, and reusable with little activity loss due to metal leaching. The silane coupling agent played several functions in this approach: (1) coordinating with gold species by the thiol group to benefit formation of monodispersed Au nanoparticles; (2) reacting with phenolic resins by silanol groups to form relatively "rigid" composite framework; (3) pore-forming agent to generate secondary pores in carbon pore walls, which lead to higher surface area, larger pore volumes, and higher accessibility to to the gold nanoparticles. Complete removal of the silica component proves to have little effect on the catalytic performance of entrapped Au nanoparticles.

Small heat-shock protein Hsp9 has dual functions in stress adaptation and stress-induced G2-M checkpoint regulation via Cdc25 inactivation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

The small heat-shock protein Hsp9 from Schizosaccharomyces pombe was previously reported to be a homologue of Saccharomyces cerevisiae HSP12. Although Hsp9 is expressed in response to heat shock and nutritional limitation, its function is still not completely understood. Here, we explored the biological function of Hsp9 in S. pombe. The hsp9 gene might play a role in stress adaptation; hsp9 deletion caused heat sensitivity and overexpression induced heat tolerance. In addition, Hsp9 also contribute to cell cycle regulation in the nucleus. Δhsp9 cells grew more quickly and were shorter in length than wild-type cells. Moreover, Δhsp9 cells did not achieve checkpoint arrest under stress conditions, leading to cell death, and exhibited a short doubling time and short G2 phase. Overexpression of hsp9 induced cell cycle delay, increased the population of G2 phase cells, and rescued the phenotypes of cdc2-33, cdc25-22, Δrad24, and Δrad25 mutants, suggesting that Hsp9 probably regulates Cdc2 phosphorylation by modulating the Cdc25 activity. Indeed, immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that Hsp9 is associated with 14-3-3 and Cdc25. In Δhsp9 cells, the association of 14-3-3 with Cdc25 was weakened and Cdc2 phosphorylaton was reduced. Together, our data suggest that Hsp9 has dual functions in stress adaptation and regulating a G2-M checkpoint by the Cdc25 inactivation; this differs from S. cerevisiae HSP12, which maintains cell membrane stability under stress conditions.

Facile synthesis of monodispersed mesoporous silica nanoparticles with ultralarge pores and their application in gene delivery.

Among various nanoparticles, the silica nanoparticle (SiNP) is an attractive candidate as a gene delivery carrier due to advantages such as availability in porous forms for encapsulation of drugs and genes, large surface area to load biomacromolecules, biocompatibility, storage stability, and easy preparation in large quantity with low cost. Here, we report on a facile synthesis of monodispersed mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MMSN) possessing very large pores (>15 nm) and application of the nanoparticles to plasmid DNA delivery to human cells. The aminated MMSN with large pores provided a higher loading capacity for plasmids than those with small pores (∼2 nm), and the complex of MMSN with plasmid DNA readily entered into cells without supplementary polymers such as cationic dendrimers. Furthermore, MMSN with large pores could efficiently protect plasmids from nuclease-mediated degradation and showed much higher transfection efficiency of the plasmids encoding luciferase and green fluorescent protein (pLuc, pGFP) compared to MMSN with small pores (∼2 nm).

Perfluorooctanoic acid alters T lymphocyte phenotypes and cytokine expression in mice.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been used in commercial applications and detected in environmental matrices. This study focuses on whether PFOA affects the function of immune organs (spleen and thymus). Male ICR mice were exposed to 0, 2, 10, 50, and 250 ppm of PFOA in drinking water for 21 days. PFOA differently altered T lymphocyte populations. In the spleen, all doses of PFOA decreased CD8(+) lymphocytes; CD4(+) lymphocytes were increased by 50 and 250 ppm of PFOA. Exposure to 250 ppm of PFOA increased CD8(+) lymphocytes in the thymus. In the histopathological evaluation, the spleen of 250 ppm PFOA-treated groups revealed the increase of lymphoid hyperplasia of white pulp without significant alteration of red pulp. The thymus of 250 ppm PFOA-treated group showed decreased thickness of the cortex and medulla, but lymphoid cells were more densely arranged. PFOA elevated the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1beta, and interleukin-6) in the spleen, and proto-oncogene, c-myc, in the spleen and thymus. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that PFOA has an immunomodulatory effect by altering T lymphocyte phenotypes and gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines.