Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, 53100, Italy.
Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, 44121, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2019 Oct 31;9(1):15775. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-52292-5.
Microplastics have become pervasive environmental pollutants in both freshwater and marine ecosystems. The presence of microplastics have been recorded in the tissues of many wild fish species, and laboratory studies have demonstrated that microplastics can exert adverse health effects. To further investigate the biological mechanisms underlying microplastics toxicity we applied an integrated approach, analyzing the effects of microplastics at transcriptomic, histological and behavioral level. Adult zebrafish have been exposed to two concentrations of high-density polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics for twenty days. Transcriptomic results indicate alterations in the expression of immune system genes and the down-regulation of genes correlated with epithelium integrity and lipid metabolism. The transcriptomic findings are supported by tissue alterations and higher occurrence of neutrophils observed in gills and intestinal epithelium. Even the daily rhythm of activity of zebrafish appears to be affected, although the regular pattern of activity is recovered over time. Considering the transcriptomic and histological findings reported, we hypothesize that the effects on mucosal epithelium integrity and immune response could potentially reduce the organism defense against pathogens, and lead to a different utilization of energy stores.
微塑料已成为淡水和海洋生态系统中普遍存在的环境污染物。在许多野生鱼类的组织中都记录到了微塑料的存在，实验室研究表明，微塑料会对健康产生不良影响。为了进一步研究微塑料毒性的生物学机制，我们采用了一种综合方法，从转录组学、组织学和行为学水平分析微塑料的影响。成年斑马鱼被暴露在两种浓度的高密度聚乙烯和聚苯乙烯微塑料中 20 天。转录组学结果表明，免疫系统基因的表达发生改变，与上皮完整性和脂质代谢相关的基因下调。组织学变化和在鳃和肠上皮中观察到的中性粒细胞的更高发生率支持了转录组学发现。甚至斑马鱼的日常活动节律似乎也受到了影响，尽管随着时间的推移，活动的规律会恢复。考虑到报告的转录组学和组织学发现，我们假设对黏膜上皮完整性和免疫反应的影响可能会降低机体对病原体的防御能力，并导致能量储存的不同利用。
