Co-Exposure of Microplastics and Avermectin at Environmental-Related Concentrations Caused Severe Heart Damage Through ROS-Mediated MAPK Signaling in Larval and Adult Zebrafish.

ABSTRACT: The widespread presence of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) and agricultural pollutants such as avermectin (AVM) in aquatic environments poses a significant threat to aquatic organisms. However, the combined toxic effect of PS-MPs and AVM on cardiac development remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the cardiac toxicity of AVM co-exposed with two sizes of MPs (large MPs, LMPs, 20 µm; small MPs, SMPs, 80 nm) in both larval and adult zebrafish. Firstly, under the co-exposure conditions of MPs and AVM, we observed significant cardiac developmental toxicity, including decreased survival rate, body length, and hatching rate, as well as a significant reduction in the number of myocardial cells. Secondly, the number of neutrophils and antioxidant enzyme activities such as CA

SUBMITTER: Xiong G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12845567 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature