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Influence of microplastics on bisphenol A and bisphenol AF toxicity in aquatic environments: Mechanistic insights for environmental risks
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Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics interact with the industrial chemicals bisphenol A and bisphenol AF in zebrafish, finding that microplastics can either reduce or worsen the toxicity depending on the specific chemical and biological pathway involved. For bisphenol A, the microplastics partially absorbed the chemical and reduced its harmful effects, but for bisphenol AF, they worsened toxicity to certain organ systems. The study reveals that microplastics play a complicated dual role in modifying how other pollutants affect aquatic life.
Co-exposure to low-density polyethylene microplastics (LDPE-MPs) and plastic additives like bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol AF (BPAF) poses a growing concern in aquatic environments, yet the role of LDPE-MPs in modulating their toxicity remains debated. This study integrates transcriptome sequencing, adsorption/desorption kinetics, and computational toxicology to assess how LDPE-MPs influence BPA- and BPAF-induced toxicity in zebrafish. We found that BPAF is more toxic than BPA, with 96 h lethal concentration 50 % (LC) values of 1.659 mg/L for BPAF and 6.219 mg/L for BPA. LDPE-MPs act as dual modulators, alleviating or exacerbating toxicity in a chemical- and pathway-dependent manner. For BPA, LDPE-MPs mitigate its impact on phototransduction by adsorbing BPA, reducing its bioavailability, and preserving light signal conversion. In contrast, LDPE-MPs exacerbate BPA-induced nucleotide metabolism disruptions by enhancing inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) activity, leading to increased gene transcription and accumulation of metabolic intermediates. For BPAF, LDPE-MPs alleviate glucose metabolism disruptions by enhancing ligand-receptor interactions, restoring glucose homeostasis. However, LDPE-MPs have little effect on BPAF-induced upregulation of steroid biosynthesis genes. These findings highlight the integration of multi-omics approaches (transcriptome sequencing, adsorption/desorption kinetics, and computational toxicology) to reveal the dual mechanisms of LDPE-MPs, addressing the knowledge gap in understanding pathway-specific toxicity mechanisms in existing studies. The results emphasize the necessity of prioritizing regulatory control of BPAF and integrating BPA/BPAF-MPs interactions into future pathway-based environmental risk assessment frameworks.
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Determination of Bisphenol Compounds and the Bioaccumulation after Co-Exposure with Polyethylene Microplastics in Zebrafish
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Researchers developed a method to measure how bisphenol A and bisphenol S accumulate in zebrafish tissues when microplastics are also present. They found that microplastics increased the accumulation of these hormone-disrupting chemicals in fish tissues, with BPA building up more than BPS. The evidence indicates that microplastics can act as carriers that enhance the uptake of harmful chemicals by aquatic organisms.
Microplastic Interference with Fipronil Toxicity to Zebrafish Embryonic Development
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Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics affect the toxicity of the insecticide fipronil on developing zebrafish embryos. They found that while microplastics reduced the lethal effects of fipronil, likely by adsorbing some of the chemical, they did not change the rate of developmental abnormalities. The study highlights the complex ways different pollutants can interact in aquatic environments.
Polystyrene microplastics modulate the toxic effects of bisphenol A in the early stages of zebrafish development
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This study investigated whether polystyrene microplastics affect the toxicity of bisphenol A (BPA) during zebrafish embryo development by co-exposing fish to both contaminants. The PS microplastics modulated BPA toxicity in complex ways—in some developmental endpoints amplifying harm, in others providing partial protection—underscoring the unpredictability of combined plastic-chemical exposures.
The modulatory effects of polystyrene microplastics on BPA-induced DNA damage and neurotoxicity during early stages development in zebrafish
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Scientists exposed baby zebrafish to microplastics, the chemical BPA (found in some plastics), and both together to see how they affect brain development and DNA damage. Surprisingly, when the two pollutants were combined, the harmful effects were somewhat less severe than when BPA acted alone, suggesting these chemicals interact in complex, unpredictable ways rather than simply adding up. This matters because it shows we can't fully understand the health risks of plastic pollution by studying chemicals one at a time; real-world exposure to multiple pollutants together may behave differently than expected.
Influence of microplastic-associated biofilms on the bioavailability of a mixture of cadmium and benzo[a]pyrene by the analysis of biomarker gene expression in larval zebrafish
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Researchers found that microbial biofilms — thin layers of bacteria that coat microplastics in water — selectively reduce how much of a toxic chemical called benzo[a]pyrene gets absorbed by larval zebrafish, while not affecting cadmium absorption, showing that microplastics can act as complex, biology-influenced carriers of multiple pollutants simultaneously.
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