Song Jie, Pu Qian, Chen Chen, Liu Xingcheng, Zhang Xinlei, Wang Zejun, Yan Jin, Wang Xuedong, Wang Huili, Qian Qiuhui
National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China.
Environ Health Perspect. 2025 May;133(5):57007. doi: 10.1289/EHP14873. Epub 2025 May 12.
Micro/nanoplastics and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are emerging environmental contaminants widely detected in aquatic environments. However, previous research has primarily focused on the interactions between micro/nanoplastics and organic substances or heavy metals, whereas the interactions and combined toxic effects of micro/nanoplastics with AgNPs remain unclear.
Our study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of coexposure to AgNPs and polystyrene micro/nanospheres (PS M/NPs) on the nervous system, comparing the toxicity of AgNPs alone and in combination with PS M/NPs in larval zebrafish.
We investigated the dynamics of AgNPs' () adsorption onto PS M/NPs () using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Zebrafish larvae were coexposed to PS M/NPs () and AgNPs () from 6 h post fertilization (hpf) to to evaluate neuroinflammatory effects from multiple perspectives, including developmental abnormalities, oxidative stress, neurobehavioral differences, vascular development, immune responses, differences in gene expression, and differences upon neuroinflammation inhibitor addition.
Adsorption experiments showed PS M/NPs could stably adsorb AgNPs, with higher adsorption in smaller particles. Zebrafish larvae exposed to combined PS M/NPs and AgNPs demonstrated neurodevelopmental abnormalities, including developmental malformations, lower levels of locomotor activity, delayed response, and abnormal neuronal development. In addition, exposed zebrafish also exhibited disrupted neurodevelopmental markers, including vascular and apoptotic indicators, and oxidative stress and neuroimmune responses. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed differences in gene expression within neurotoxic pathways in PS M/NPs and AgNPs-exposed zebrafish, focusing on key genes in immunity, apoptosis, vascular, and neural development. Furthermore, these neurotoxic effects induced by combined exposure were alleviated following the introduction of the neuroinflammation inhibitor curcumin.
Our findings demonstrate that polystyrene nanospheres (PSNPs) intensified AgNPs-induced neurotoxicity in larval zebrafish, whereas polystyrene microspheres (PSMPs) had a lesser effect, indicating distinct gene regulation roles when combined with AgNPs. These findings enhance the assessment of environmental risks in settings with coexisting nanomaterials and microplastics, offering important insights for evaluating combined exposure risks. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14873.
微塑料/纳米塑料和银纳米颗粒（AgNPs）是在水生环境中广泛检测到的新兴环境污染物。然而，先前的研究主要集中在微塑料/纳米塑料与有机物质或重金属之间的相互作用，而微塑料/纳米塑料与AgNPs之间的相互作用和联合毒性效应仍不清楚。
我们的研究旨在探讨同时暴露于AgNPs和聚苯乙烯微/纳米球（PS M/NPs）对神经系统的影响及机制，比较单独的AgNPs以及与PS M/NPs联合作用对斑马鱼幼体的毒性。
我们使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法研究了AgNPs（）在PS M/NPs（）上的吸附动力学。斑马鱼幼体在受精后6小时（hpf）至期间同时暴露于PS M/NPs（）和AgNPs（），从多个角度评估神经炎症效应，包括发育异常、氧化应激、神经行为差异、血管发育、免疫反应、基因表达差异以及添加神经炎症抑制剂后的差异。
吸附实验表明PS M/NPs能够稳定吸附AgNPs，较小颗粒的吸附量更高。暴露于PS M/NPs和AgNPs组合的斑马鱼幼体表现出神经发育异常，包括发育畸形、运动活性水平降低、反应延迟和神经元发育异常。此外，暴露的斑马鱼还表现出神经发育标志物的破坏，包括血管和凋亡指标，以及氧化应激和神经免疫反应。定量实时聚合酶链反应分析显示，暴露于PS M/NPs和AgNPs的斑马鱼神经毒性途径内的基因表达存在差异，重点关注免疫、凋亡、血管和神经发育中的关键基因。此外，引入神经炎症抑制剂姜黄素后，联合暴露诱导的这些神经毒性效应得到缓解。
我们的研究结果表明，聚苯乙烯纳米球（PSNPs）增强了AgNPs对斑马鱼幼体的神经毒性，而聚苯乙烯微球（PSMPs）的影响较小，表明与AgNPs联合时具有不同的基因调控作用。这些发现加强了对纳米材料和微塑料共存环境中环境风险的评估，为评估联合暴露风险提供了重要见解。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14873。
