Ingestion of polyethylene terephthalate microplastic water contaminants by Xenopus laevis tadpoles negatively affects their resistance to ranavirus infection and antiviral immunity.

ABSTRACT: Small plastic debris (0.1 μm-5 mm) or microplastics (MPs) have become major pollutants of aquatic ecosystems worldwide and studies suggest that MPs exposure can pose serious threats to human and wildlife health. However, to date the potential biological impacts of MPs accumulating in low amount in tissues during early life remains unclear. Here, for a more realistic assessment, we have used environmentally representative, mildly weathered, polyethylene terephthalate microplastics (PET MPs), cryomilled (1-100 μm) and fluorescently labelled. We leveraged the amphibian Xenopus laevis tadpoles as an animal model to define the biodistribution of PET MPs and determine whether exposure to PET MPs induce perturbations of antiviral immunity. Exposure to PET MPs for 1-14 days resulted in detectable

SUBMITTER: Cai B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11321924 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature