Project description:Polystyrene (PS) is one of the most difficult plastics to degrade, and its microplastic residues have been detected in various environments.
Project description:<p>Microplastics and nanoplastics are commonly found in our everyday environments. So far, microplastics and nanoplastics have been detected in various tissues and bodily fluids, including hair, sputum, digestive tissue, lungs, blood, and placental tissue. Although some studies indicate that microplastics and nanoplastics can induce tumor development, their impact on endometrial cancer (EC) remains unclear. In this study, we examined the effect of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) on EC development and explored the underlying pathogenic mechanisms. We observed the uptake and accumulation of PS-NPs in HEC-1B cells and EC organoids. Using cellular assays and mouse models, we demonstrated that PS-NP exposure can accelerate EC progression in vitro and in vivo. Next, through transcriptomic sequencing and targeted metabolomic sequencing, we found that adenosine 5'-pyrophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) can activate ACSS2, allowing its entry into the nucleus and increasing the histone acetylation of the PLA2G3 gene. This induces PLA2G3 mRMA upregulation, increases arachidonic acid(AA) production, and ultimately leads to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in EC cells. The relevant molecular markers in this study can provide new strategies for early warning and targeted intervention, reducing the potential impact of PS-NPs on EC.</p>
Project description:The exposure to nano-plastics affects mammalian neurotoxic hazard characterization remains to be determined. Our aim was to investigate the neurotoxicity of nano-plastics in rodents. Animals were randomly divided into two groups: a control group and 50 mg/kg body weight PS NPs treatment groups. Before treatment, animals were fasted overnight. PS NPs were suspended into waters, vigorously stirred. The PS NPs via oral gavage once per day and for 6 months. The mice were treated with water in control group. We found that exposure to PS NPs caused cognitive decline. PS NPs exposure influenced the prefrontal cortex cells with more pathological alteration with increasing dosage. High-throughput RNA sequencing was conducted to explore miRNA expression in prefrontal cortex. Twenty-nine differentially expressed miRNAs were detected, including 12 upregulated and 17 downregulated miRNAs. This finding provided a reference for further studies on the development mechanisms of ncRNA during cognitive dysfunction.
Project description:The exposure to nano-plastics affects mammalian neurotoxic hazard characterization remains to be determined. Our aim was to investigate the neurotoxicity of nano-plastics in rodents. Animals were randomly divided into two groups: a control group and 50 mg/kg body weight PS NPs treatment groups. Before treatment, animals were fasted overnight. PS NPs were suspended into waters, vigorously stirred. The PS NPs via oral gavage once per day and for 6 months. The mice were treated with water in control group. We found that exposure to PS NPs caused cognitive decline. PS NPs exposure influenced the prefrontal cortex cells with more pathological alteration with increasing dosage. High-throughput RNA sequencing was conducted to explore miRNA expression in prefrontal cortex. Sixty-seven differentially expressed circRNAs were detected, including 25 upregulated and 42 downregulated circRNAs. We also explored 987 differentially expressed mRNAs, including 477 upregulated and 510 downregulated mRNAs.
Project description:This study focused on investigating the biocatalytic potential of the white-rot basidiomycete Abortiporus biennis LGAM 436 to modify the structure of different types of PS, including amorphous film with atactic stereochemistry and commercial EPS foam. The selection of this specific strain was mainly based on a previous report by our group, focusing on the isolation of a laccase secreted by A. biennis LGAM 436, which is capable of reducing the number-average molecular weight of PS by 20% (10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137338). To expedite the process of whole cell biocatalysis, we also evaluated the addition of the phenol-rich olive-oil mill wastewater effluent (OOMW); a byproduct which can act as an inducer of oxidative enzymes such as laccases and LiPs (10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.02.042). Following the assessment of PS degradation through analyses of molar mass, the emergence of new functional groups, and alterations in surface morphology, we sought to elucidate the enzymatic activities expressed in the presence of PS. This was achieved after the secretome assessment of the basidiomycete via proteomics studies, which will pave the way for the heterologous expression of novel enzymatic activities that can synergistically act to modify and degrade polyolefin structures.
Project description:Microplastics (MPs) as widespread contamination pose high risk for aquatic organisms.Intestinal microbiotahas have high interaction with immune system of host body. In this study, intestinal microbiota of zebrafish after Polystyrene (PS-MPs) exposure were characterized by 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. We found that 100nm and 200μm PS-MPs exposure significantly increased diversity of intestinal microbiota and all the three sizes of PS-MPs increased abundance of pathogenic bacteria.
Project description:Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPLs) have emerged as pervasive environmental pollutants, raising growing concerns about their potential health risks. Their documented presence in the human bloodstream highlights the need to understand their interactions with endothelial cells and their role in cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. However, the full implications of these interactions remain largely unknown. To address this, we investigated the impact of three sizes (30, 50, and 100 nm) of polystyrene carboxylated nanoplastics (PS-C-NPLs) on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) at 100 µg/mL. By integrating in vitro assays with bioinformatic transcriptomic analyses, we employed a multimodal approach to comprehensively investigate the effects of PS-C-NPLs on endothelial cells. In vitro assessments included nanoplastics (NPLs) internalisation (flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, TEM), morphological and internal complexity changes (flow cytometry), genotoxicity (comet assay), and functional alterations, such as cholesterol biosynthesis (Filipin III staining), migration (wound healing assay), angiogenesis, and inflammation (IL-6 ELISA). Additionally, RNA sequencing provided transcriptomic insights into the cellular response to PS-C-NPLs, complementing the in vitro findings and revealing molecular pathways underlying the observed effects. All three PS-C-NPL sizes were rapidly internalised by HUVECs within 20 minutes, inducing significant alterations in cell morphology, internal complexity, and function. PS-C-NPLs caused genotoxic damage and disrupted cholesterol metabolism, migration, angiogenesis, and inflammatory responses. Notably, some effects exhibited a size-dependent trend, with similarities emerging between carboxylated polystyrene (PS-C) 50 and 100 nm NPLs, while the smallest 30 nm NPL showed slightly distinct responses. Transcriptomic analyses reinforced these findings, revealing shared pathways across all three PS-C-NPLs —linked to cholesterol metabolism, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, DNA damage, and inflammation — alongside size-specific molecular signatures. This study is the first to comprehensively link transcriptomic changes to size-dependent functional alterations in endothelial cells induced by PS-C-NPLs. Our findings demonstrate that PS-C-NPLs significantly impair endothelial cell function and integrity in a size-dependent manner, underscoring their potential cardiovascular risks.
Project description:Plastics are persistent synthetic polymers that accumulate in the marine environment as waste. Microplastic (MP) particles are derived from the breakdown of larger debris or can enter the environment as microscopic fragments. Filter-feeder organisms ingest MP while feeding and are likely to be impacted by MP pollution. To assess the impact of polystyrene microspheres (PS) on the physiology of the Pacific oyster, adult oysters were experimentally exposed to virgin micro-PS (2 and 6 µm in diameter; 32 µg L-1) for two months during a reproductive cycle. Effects were investigated on transcriptomic responses, in digestive gland gonads and oocytes of exposed oysters. Transcriptomic profiles in the tissues of the exposed oyster showed endocrine disrupting signals, notably highlighting alteration in glucocorticoid response, insulin pathway and fatty-acid metabolism in response to micro-PS exposition. In oocytes from exposed females, several transcripts coding for proteins involved in Ca2+ binding were differentially expressed suggesting a disruption of the Ca2+ signaling pathway with crucial consequences on oocyte maturation. To assess the impact of polystyrene microspheres (PS) on the physiology of the Pacific oyster, adult oysters were experimentally exposed to virgin micro-PS (2 and 6 µm in diameter; 32 µg L-1) for two months during a reproductive cycle and compared to control oysters. Adults were sampled 2 and 8 weeks after the beginning of exposure (corresponding to T1 and T3, respectively, 8-9 replicates per time of sampling and condition for a total of 56). Tissues were immediately dissected from each oyster, frozen in liquid nitrogen, then crushed to a fine powder at -196°C with an oscillating mill mixer and stored in liquid nitrogen until RNA extraction. Oocytes were collected from 5 females per condition, filtered in a 40 µm sieve, counted and transferred into 1.5 mL of Extract-all reagent (Eurobio, Courtaboeuf, France) (20,000 oocytes). Total RNA was isolated using 1.5 mL of Extract-all Reagent per 50 mg of gonad powder. For microarray hybridizations, 200 ng of total RNA were indirectly labeled with Cy3 using the Low Input Quick Amp Labeling kit One-Color. Hybridization was performed using the Agilent Gene expression hybridization kit (5188-5242), with 1.65 μg of labeled RNA, for 16 h at 65 °C. The employed arrays were Agilent 60-mer 4x44K custom microarrays, containing 31,918 C. gigas ESTs, designed by Dheilly et al. (2011). Slides were scanned on an Agilent Technologies G2565AA Microarray Scanner system at 5 μm resolution, using default parameters. Features were extracted using the Agilent Feature Extraction software 6.1.
Project description:Plastics are persistent synthetic polymers that accumulate in the marine environment as waste. Microplastic (MP) particles are derived from the breakdown of larger debris or can enter the environment as microscopic fragments. Filter-feeder organisms ingest MP while feeding and are likely to be impacted by MP pollution. To assess the impact of polystyrene microspheres (PS) on the physiology of the Pacific oyster, adult oysters were experimentally exposed to virgin micro-PS (2 and 6 µm in diameter; 32 µg L-1) for two months during a reproductive cycle. Effects were investigated on transcriptomic responses, in digestive gland gonads and oocytes of exposed oysters. Transcriptomic profiles in the tissues of the exposed oyster showed endocrine disrupting signals, notably highlighting alteration in glucocorticoid response, insulin pathway and fatty-acid metabolism in response to micro-PS exposition. In oocytes from exposed females, several transcripts coding for proteins involved in Ca2+ binding were differentially expressed suggesting a disruption of the Ca2+ signaling pathway with crucial consequences on oocyte maturation.
Project description:Male C57BL/6 mice were assigned to three groups (n=6 per group): ISO, ISO+100 nm polystyrene nanoplastics (PS), and ISO+1 µm PS. Hearts were collected at the study endpoint and profiled by bulk mRNA-seq to identify transcriptional signatures associated with PS size in the setting of ISO-induced myocardial injury. Libraries were prepared and sequenced in two batches (Batch 1 by Novogene; Batch 2 by Majorbio Bio-Pharm Technology).