Short-term polystyrene nanoplastic exposure alters zebrafish male and female germline and reproductive outcomes, unveiling pollutant-impacted molecular pathways
Pujol Infantes, Gala (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Marin Gual, Laia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
González Rodelas, Laura (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Álvarez-González, Lucía (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Chauvigné, François (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Cerdà, Joan (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Teles, Mariana (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Roher Armentia, Nerea (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Ruiz-Herrera Moreno, Aurora (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Nanoplastics pollution is a rising environmental concern whose impacts on biodiversity and human health are far from being understood. This is particularly salient in aquatic ecosystems, where the majority of species depend on external fertilization for reproduction. Here we evaluated the effects of a short-term exposure to engineered polystyrene nanoplastics (NPs) in the zebrafish germline to further explore their impact on reproduction. To this end, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to 5 mg/L of 45 nm polystyrene (PS)-NPs via water for 96 h. We show that, in males, nanoplastics induced testicular histological alterations with abnormal sperm clustering and chromatin compaction, resulting in viable spermatozoa but with reduced motility. Moreover, in females we observed an alteration in oocyte stages frequencies during oogenesis, possibly reflecting alterations in oocyte growth. RNA-sequencing analysis in male testis links nanoplastic induced alterations in the expression of genes involved in chromatin structure, meiosis and DNA double-strand break formation and repair progression, and gametes recognition. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that the observed effects in males were directly due to nanoplastics penetrating the testicular barrier and being internalized within germline cells. Overall, our results demonstrate that acute exposure to NPs can compromise reproductive fitness, underscoring the environmental and health impacts of NPs pollution.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-112557GB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2021-126710OB-C21 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2022-138066OB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-113221RB-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00122 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00068 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PRE-C-2021-0083 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PRE-2018-083257 Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades FPU18/03867 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación RYC2019-026841-I
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Fertility ; Germ cells ; Nanoplastics ; Testis ; Zebrafish ; SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
Published in:	Journal of hazardous materials, Vol. 481 (January 2025) , art. 136529, ISSN 1873-3336

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136529
PMID: 39556913

12 p, 6.2 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles