College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Shaanxi, Yangling, 712100, PR China.
Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Chemosphere. 2022 Feb;288(Pt 3):132631. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132631. Epub 2021 Oct 21.
The potential toxicity of nanoplastics (NPs) and microplastics (MPs) has raised concerns. However, knowledge of the effects of NPs/MPs on the health of mammals is still limited. Here we investigated the alteration of the physicochemical properties of polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs: 50 nm) and MPs (PS-MPs: 300 nm, 600 nm, 4 μm) in the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, we investigated the uptake and bioaccumulation and the toxic effects of these plastic particles in the kidneys of mice. The results revealed that their digestion promoted the aggregation of PS-NPs and PS-MPs and increased the Zeta-potential value. Both PS-NPs and PS-MPs bioaccumulated in the kidneys, and the aggregation of 600 nm PS-MPs exacerbated their biotoxicity. The PS-NPs and PS-MPs caused mice weight loss, increased their death rate, significantly alternated several biomarkers, and resulted in histological damage of the kidney. We also found that exposure to PS-NPs and PS-MPs induced oxidative stress and the development of inflammation. These findings provide new insights into the toxic effects of NPs and MPs on mice.
纳米塑料（NPs）和微塑料（MPs）的潜在毒性引起了人们的关注。然而，人们对 NPs/MPs 对哺乳动物健康的影响的了解仍然有限。在这里，我们研究了聚苯乙烯 NPs（PS-NPs：50nm）和 MPs（PS-MPs：300nm、600nm、4μm）在胃肠道中理化性质的变化。此外，我们研究了这些塑料颗粒在小鼠肾脏中的摄取、生物累积和毒性作用。结果表明，它们的消化促进了 PS-NPs 和 PS-MPs 的聚集，并增加了 Zeta 电位值。PS-NPs 和 PS-MPs 都在肾脏中积累，而 600nm PS-MPs 的聚集加剧了它们的生物毒性。PS-NPs 和 PS-MPs 导致小鼠体重减轻、死亡率增加，显著改变了几种生物标志物，并导致肾脏组织损伤。我们还发现，暴露于 PS-NPs 和 PS-MPs 会诱导氧化应激和炎症的发展。这些发现为 NPs 和 MPs 对小鼠的毒性作用提供了新的见解。
