engleski

Zebrafish as a Sensitive Model for Assessment of Neurotoxic Effects of Nanoplastics

Concurrent with the increasing pollution of microplastics and nanoplastics in the aquatic environment, comes a growing concern of these small-sized plastics, which are threatening aquatic organisms via diverse toxic mechanisms that are, at present, poorly understood. The present study investigated the toxic effects of nanoplastics toward zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae and adults. Zebrafish were exposed to either nanoplastics alone, or the mixture of nanoplastics and a representative endocrine disruptor chemical. As for zebrafish larvae, treatment with nanoplastics alone inhibited the larval locomotion. Moreover, nanoplastics showed a synergic disruptive effect for 17α- ethynylestradiol (EE2) on the swimming hypoactivity phenomenon in the co-exposure treatments. Furthermore, four principal parameters which affected the larvae’s behavior were screened out, namely oxidative stress (p < 0.05), body length (p < 0.05), nervous system related genes (p = 0.11), and visual system related genes (p = 0.72). However, as for zebrafish adults, the oxidative damage and body length alteration have not been detected in nanoplastics alone, nor in the co-exposure groups. Nevertheless, the nanoplastics still induced neurotoxicity, which may be due to the changes in the cholinergic system, impact of dopaminergic signaling and the development of the neuron. These results suggest that nanoplastics can function as a carrier to increase the neurotoxicity to zebrafish and aquatic organisms will have different toxic outcomes if they were exposure at different growth periods. This study can serve as a base for future investigations of detailed pathways of the toxic mechanisms of nanoplastics and will hopefully increase awareness of the potential environmental risks of nanoplastics.

zebrafish behavior ; plastic particles ; EE2 ; neurotoxicity

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