Yang Jiayi, Kamstra Jorke, Legler Juliette, Aardema Hilde
Farm Animal Health, Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Anim Reprod. 2023 Jul 24;20(2):e20230037. doi: 10.1590/1984-3143-AR2023-0037. eCollection 2023.
Plastic pollution in our environment is one of the most important global health concerns right now. Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are taken up by both humans and animals, mainly via food and water, and can pass important epithelial barriers. Indications of plastics in the blood circulation have recently been shown in both humans and farm animals, but standardized methods to quantify the exact levels of MNPs to which we are exposed are currently lacking. Potential hazards of MNPs are being investigated very recently, including the impact that MNPs may have on reproduction. However, studies on mammalian reproduction are scarce, but a wealth of data from aquatic species indicates reproductive effects of MNPs. The first studies in rodent models demonstrate that MNPs reach the gonads after oral exposure and may impact offspring after maternal exposure during the gestational period. These effects may arise from the particles themselves or the presence of plastic contaminants that leach from plastics. Plastic contamination has been detected in human placentas, fetal fluid and the meconium of newborns, indicating the presence of plastics from the very first start of life. Currently there is a lack of studies that investigate the impact of MNP exposure during the periconception and embryonic period, whereas this is an extremely sensitive period that needs considerable attention with the growing amount of plastics in our environment.
环境中的塑料污染是当前全球最重要的健康问题之一。微塑料和纳米塑料（MNPs）主要通过食物和水被人类和动物摄取，并能够穿过重要的上皮屏障。最近在人类和农场动物中均已发现血液循环中有塑料的迹象，但目前缺乏用于量化我们所接触的MNPs确切水平的标准化方法。MNPs的潜在危害最近正在被研究，包括MNPs可能对生殖产生的影响。然而，关于哺乳动物生殖的研究很少，但来自水生物种的大量数据表明MNPs对生殖有影响。在啮齿动物模型中的首批研究表明，口服接触后MNPs会到达性腺，并且在孕期母体接触后可能会影响后代。这些影响可能源于颗粒本身，也可能源于从塑料中渗出的塑料污染物的存在。在人类胎盘、羊水和新生儿胎粪中均检测到了塑料污染，这表明从生命最初阶段就存在塑料。目前缺乏研究来调查在受孕和胚胎期接触MNPs的影响，而这是一个极其敏感的时期，随着环境中塑料数量的不断增加，需要给予相当大的关注。
