Yang Diqi, Zhu Jiandi, Zhou Xiaoshu, Pan Di, Nan Sha, Yin Ruiling, Lei Qianghui, Ma Ning, Zhu Hongmei, Chen Jianguo, Han Li, Ding Mingxing, Ding Yi
College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Environ Int. 2022 Aug;166:107362. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107362. Epub 2022 Jun 18.
The adverse effects of plastic on adult animal and human health have been receiving increasing attention. However, its potential toxicity to fetuses has not been fully elucidated. Herein, biodistribution of polystyrene (PS) particles was determined after the maternal mice were orally given PS micro- and/or nano-particles with and without surface modifications during gestational days 1 to 17. The results showed that PS microplastics (MPs) and nanoparticles (NPs) mainly emerged in the alimentary tract, brain, uterus, and placenta in maternal mice, and only the latter infiltrated into the fetal thalamus. PS NPs and carboxyl-modified NPs induced differentially expressed genes mainly enriched in oxidative phosphorylation and GABAergic synapse. Maternal administration of PS particles during gestation led to anxiety-like behavior of the progenies and their γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) reduction in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala at Week 8. N-Acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, alleviated PS particles-induced oxidative injury in the fetal brain and rescued the anxiety-like behavior of the progenies. Additionally, PS nanoparticles caused excessive ROS and apoptosis in neuronal cell lines, which were prevented by glutathione supplementation. These results suggested that PS particles produced a negative effect on fetuses by inducing oxidative injury and suppressing GABA synthesis in their brain. The findings contribute to estimating the risk for PS particles to human and animal health.
塑料对成年动物和人类健康的不良影响日益受到关注。然而，其对胎儿的潜在毒性尚未完全阐明。在此，在妊娠第1至17天给母鼠口服有或无表面修饰的聚苯乙烯（PS）微米和/或纳米颗粒后，测定了PS颗粒的生物分布。结果表明，PS微塑料（MPs）和纳米颗粒（NPs）主要出现在母鼠的消化道、脑、子宫和胎盘中，只有后者渗入胎儿丘脑。PS NPs和羧基修饰的NPs诱导的差异表达基因主要富集在氧化磷酸化和GABA能突触中。妊娠期母鼠给予PS颗粒导致子代出现焦虑样行为，且在第8周时其前额叶皮质和杏仁核中的γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）减少。抗氧化剂N-乙酰半胱氨酸（NAC）减轻了PS颗粒诱导的胎儿脑氧化损伤，并挽救了子代的焦虑样行为。此外，PS纳米颗粒在神经元细胞系中引起过量的活性氧（ROS）和细胞凋亡，补充谷胱甘肽可预防这种情况。这些结果表明，PS颗粒通过诱导氧化损伤和抑制胎儿脑中的GABA合成对胎儿产生负面影响。这些发现有助于评估PS颗粒对人类和动物健康的风险。
