Yuan Hongbin, Wen Siyue, Zhao Yu, Hu Liehai, Xu Hengyi
State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China.
Toxicol Res (Camb). 2023 Apr 27;12(3):446-456. doi: 10.1093/toxres/tfad031. eCollection 2023 Jun.
Nanoplastics are widely distributed in the environment and can adsorb heavy metals, which poses a potential threat to human health through food chain. It is necessary to assess the combined toxicity of nanoplastics and heavy metals. The adverse effect of Pb and nanoplastics on liver, single or in combination, was evaluated in this study. The results showed that the Pb content in co-exposure group of nanoplastics and Pb (PN group) was higher than the group exposed to Pb alone (Pb group). And more severe inflammatory infiltration was observed in liver sections of PN group. The level of inflammatory cytokines and malondialdehyde were increased, while the superoxide dismutase activity was decreased in liver tissues of PN group. Moreover, the gene expression level of , and , which is related to antioxidation, was downregulated. And the expression level of cleaved-Caspase9 and cleaved-Caspase3 were increased. However, with the supplementation of oxidative stress inhibitor N-Acetyl-L-cysteine, liver damage shown in PN group was evidently alleviated. In summary, nanoplastics evidently exacerbated the deposition of Pb in liver and potentially aggravated the Pb-induced liver toxicity by activating oxidative stress.
纳米塑料广泛分布于环境中，且能吸附重金属，这会通过食物链对人类健康构成潜在威胁。评估纳米塑料和重金属的联合毒性很有必要。本研究评估了铅和纳米塑料单独或联合作用对肝脏的不良影响。结果显示，纳米塑料与铅共同暴露组（PN组）的铅含量高于单独暴露于铅的组（铅组）。并且在PN组的肝脏切片中观察到更严重的炎症浸润。PN组肝脏组织中炎症细胞因子和丙二醛水平升高，而超氧化物歧化酶活性降低。此外，与抗氧化相关的 、 和 的基因表达水平下调。并且裂解的Caspase9和裂解的Caspase3的表达水平升高。然而，随着氧化应激抑制剂N-乙酰半胱氨酸的补充，PN组出现的肝脏损伤明显减轻。综上所述，纳米塑料明显加剧了铅在肝脏中的沉积，并可能通过激活氧化应激加重铅诱导的肝脏毒性。
