Cardiovascular Surgery Department, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China; Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education & Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province and Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China.
Cardiovascular Surgery Department, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 1;906:167406. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167406. Epub 2023 Sep 27.
Micro- and nanoplastics have recently been detected in human blood and placentas, indicating inevitable embryonic exposure to these particles. However, their influence on human embryogenesis and the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. In this study, the effects of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) exposure on cardiac differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were evaluated. Uptake of PS-NPs not only caused cellular injury, but also regulated cardiac-related pathways as revealed by RNA-sequencing. Consequently, the efficiency of cardiomyocyte differentiation from hESCs was compromised, leading to immature of cardiomyocytes and smaller cardiac organoids with impaired contractility. Mechanistically, PS-NPs promoted mitochondrial oxidative stress, activated P38/Erk MAPK signaling pathway, blocked autophagy flux, and eventually reduced the pluripotency of hESCs. Consistently, in vivo exposure of PS-NPs from cleavage to gastrula period of zebrafish embryo led to reduced cardiac contraction and blood flow. Collectively, this study suggests that PS-NPs is a risk factor for fetal health, especially for heart development.
微塑料和纳米塑料最近在人体血液和胎盘组织中被检测到，这表明胚胎不可避免地会暴露于这些颗粒中。然而，它们对人类胚胎发生的影响及其潜在机制尚不清楚。在这项研究中，评估了聚苯乙烯纳米塑料（PS-NPs）暴露对人胚胎干细胞（hESC）心脏分化的影响。PS-NPs 的摄取不仅导致细胞损伤，还通过 RNA 测序揭示了对心脏相关途径的调节。因此，hESC 分化为心肌细胞的效率受损，导致心肌细胞不成熟，以及心肌球体收缩力受损的体积减小。从机制上讲，PS-NPs 促进了线粒体氧化应激，激活了 P38/Erk MAPK 信号通路，阻断了自噬流，最终降低了 hESC 的多能性。一致地，斑马鱼胚胎从卵裂期到原肠胚期暴露于 PS-NPs 导致心脏收缩和血流减少。总的来说，这项研究表明 PS-NPs 是胎儿健康的危险因素，特别是对心脏发育。
