| Resum: |
Plastic waste constitutes a significant threat to the health of aquatic animals. Due to their small size, high surface profile, high mobility, and pervasiveness, nanoplastics (NPs) have colonized all terrestrial and aquatic environments. NPs can enter food chains, travel through the blood, cross cell membranes, and accumulate in tissues and organs. Several studies have focused on the short-term effects of NPs on the health of aquatic animals, but the medium-term or chronic effects are still obscure. Here, we have analyzed the putative detrimental effects of 14-day exposure to 100 μg/L of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs), one of the most abundant types of NPs found in aquatic ecosystems, on the physiology of gilthead seabream, an abundant commercial fish species in the Mediterranean Sea. After analyzing several biochemical, hematological, and genetic markers of altered metabolism in the liver and blood, together with changes in the structure of the gills and intestine, we found minor changes in the management of lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and hematological parameters in fish exposed to PS-NPs, with no alterations in the morphology of the gills and intestine. If maintained, chronic exposure to PS-NPs may result in an accretive process of physiological disturbance. Nanoplastics (NPs) can cross cellular membranes and affect cellular performance. This study aims to determine the effects of polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs, 44 nm) on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) exposed for 14 days to 100 μg/L PS-NPs. The results show that biometric indicators (weight, length, Fulton's condition factor, and hepatosomatic index) were not affected after the experimental exposures. No significant effects were observed on white blood cell count, red blood cell count, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, or platelets compared to the control group. However, there was a significant decrease in hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit values, and mean corpuscular cell volume in fish exposed to PS-NPs. There were no significant effects on plasmatic cholesterol, triglyceride, alkaline phosphatase, or aspartate aminotransferase levels. The histological anatomy of both the gills and the intestine revealed no obvious signs of cellular damage, excessive mucous, or inflammation in the PS-NP group. The expression of transcripts related to lipid metabolism (pparα, pparβ), growth and development (igf1), detoxification (bche), and oxidative stress (sod, gpx1) were significantly downregulated in animals exposed to PS-NPs, indicating a slight impairment in lipid homeostasis and antioxidant response. |
visitant ::
identificació
(Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
