Sun Ziqing, Wu Baihui, Yi Jia, Yu Haiyang, He Jiaxuan, Teng Fei, Xi Tong, Zhao Jinlong, Ruan Jing, Xu Peiye, Tao Runchao, Jia Liushuo, Ji Hao
Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China.
Institute of Life Science & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
Toxics. 2024 Aug 21;12(8):617. doi: 10.3390/toxics12080617.
Nanoplastics, as emerging environmental pollutants, can transport contaminants across marine environments, polluting pristine ecosystems and being ingested by marine organisms. This transfer poses a severe threat to global aquatic ecosystems and potentially impacts human health through the food chain. Neurobehavioral and reproductive toxicity are critical areas of concern because they directly affect the survival, health, and population dynamics of aquatic species, which can have cascading effects on the entire ecosystem. Using zebrafish as a model organism, we investigated the toxic effects of environmental concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs). Behavioral assessments, including the novel tank test and open field test, demonstrated significant neurobehavioral changes, indicating increased anxiety and depressive behaviors. A pathological analysis of brain and gonadal tissues, along with evaluations of neurobehavioral and reproductive toxicity biomarkers, revealed that exposure to PS-NPs leads to brain tissue lesions, inflammatory responses, oxidative stress activation, hormone level disruptions, and gonadal damage. Real-time quantitative PCR studies of reproductive gene expression further showed that PS-NPs disrupt the endocrine regulation pathways of the brain-pituitary-gonadal (BPG) axis, causing reproductive toxicity with sex-specific differences. These findings provide crucial insights into the impacts of nanoplastics on aquatic organisms and their ecological risks, offering theoretical support for future environmental protection and pollutant management efforts.
纳米塑料作为新兴的环境污染物，能够在海洋环境中传输污染物，污染原始生态系统并被海洋生物摄取。这种转移对全球水生生态系统构成严重威胁，并可能通过食物链影响人类健康。神经行为毒性和生殖毒性是关键的关注领域，因为它们直接影响水生物种的生存、健康和种群动态，进而可能对整个生态系统产生连锁反应。我们以斑马鱼作为模式生物，研究了环境浓度的聚苯乙烯纳米塑料（PS-NPs）的毒性效应。行为评估，包括新鱼缸试验和旷场试验，显示出显著的神经行为变化，表明焦虑和抑郁行为增加。对脑和性腺组织进行病理分析，并评估神经行为和生殖毒性生物标志物，结果显示，暴露于PS-NPs会导致脑组织损伤、炎症反应、氧化应激激活、激素水平紊乱以及性腺损伤。对生殖基因表达进行的实时定量PCR研究进一步表明，PS-NPs会破坏脑-垂体-性腺（BPG）轴的内分泌调节途径，导致具有性别差异的生殖毒性。这些发现为纳米塑料对水生生物的影响及其生态风险提供了关键见解，为未来的环境保护和污染物管理工作提供了理论支持。
