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Vehicle-specific toxicological profiles of tire wear particles: Physiological, microbial, and transcriptomic disruptions in zebrafish induced by light and heavy-duty vehicle emissions
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Researchers compared the toxicity of tire wear particles from heavy-duty versus light-duty vehicles in zebrafish and found that heavy-duty particles caused more severe effects. Heavy-duty tire wear particles led to greater growth reduction, sustained oxidative stress, significant gut microbiome disruption, and more pronounced liver gene expression changes compared to light-duty particles.
Tire wear particles (TWPs) from vehicles have emerged as significant sources of environmental microplastics, releasing hazardous metals and organic contaminants into aquatic ecosystems. However, the differential toxicological effects of TWPs originating from heavy-duty vehicle tire wear particles (HTWPs) versus light-duty vehicle tire wear particles (LTWPs) remain inadequately characterized. Here, we comprehensively evaluated physiological responses, gut microbiota alterations, and liver transcriptomic changes in zebrafish exposed to HTWPs and LTWPs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that HTWPs exhibit rougher surfaces and sharper edges compared to LTWPs. Physiologically, HTWP exposure resulted in marked reductions in body and organ growth metrics and induced sustained oxidative stress responses, whereas LTWPs triggered comparatively milder oxidative effects. Microbial analysis demonstrated significant gut dysbiosis following HTWP exposure, characterized by decreased microbial diversity and an increased abundance of pathogenic Acinetobacter, negatively correlated with hepatic irf1b expression. Functional predictions based on PICRUSt2 further revealed vehicle-specific alterations in gut microbial metabolism: immune- and xenobiotic-related pathways were enriched under HTWP exposure, while LTWP exposure enhanced microbial functions related to lipid metabolism. These functional shifts suggest potential host-microbiota metabolic crosstalk. Transcriptomic analyses indicated particle-type-specific disruptions: HTWPs predominantly impaired carbohydrate metabolism, downregulating critical glycolytic genes (pgk1, pkma), while LTWPs primarily altered lipid metabolic pathways, as evidenced by decreased acacb and increased hadhaa expression. Notably, both HTWP and LTWP exposures activated inflammatory signaling via the MAPK pathway, particularly through upregulation of mapk8a. Quantitative PCR validation confirmed the robustness and reliability of the RNA-seq results. Together, these findings highlight distinct toxicological mechanisms driven by vehicle source and underscore the need for source-specific ecological risk assessments to mitigate the environmental impact of TWP pollution.
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Size- and duration-dependent toxicity of heavy vehicle tire wear particles in zebrafish
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Researchers exposed zebrafish to heavy vehicle tire wear particles of two sizes over 15 and 90 days, finding that smaller particles triggered broader systemic stress and gut microbiota dysbiosis while larger particles caused more localized damage, and that both sizes produced transgenerational effects including impaired offspring growth and disrupted growth hormone signaling.
Size-dependent ecotoxicological impacts of tire wear particles on zebrafish physiology and gut microbiota: Implications for aquatic ecosystem health
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Researchers found that tire wear particles, a major but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution, affect zebrafish health differently depending on particle size. Smaller particles caused more severe gut microbiome disruption, oxidative stress, and immune responses, suggesting that tire-derived microplastics in waterways may pose a greater health risk to aquatic life than previously recognized.
Divergent impacts of leached versus pristine tire wear particles on zebrafish: From physiological stress to gut microbiota dysbiosis
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Researchers exposed zebrafish to tire wear particles that had been leached with water or methanol to remove chemical extractables, finding that leaching shifts the primary hazard from acute chemical toxicity toward chronic tissue damage and gut microbiome dysbiosis — with methanol-leached particles causing the most severe injury and collapsing gut microbial diversity by over 60%.
Tire wear particle leachate-induced hepatotoxicity in Carassius auratus: Associations with gut microbiota dysbiosis and lipid metabolism disorder
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Chemicals leaching from tire wear particles (tiny bits of rubber that wash off roads into waterways) caused liver damage, gut bacteria imbalances, and disrupted fat metabolism in fish exposed to environmentally realistic levels over 28 days. While this study was done in fish, not humans, it's a warning sign worth watching, tire particles are a widespread and growing pollutant in our water systems, and this research suggests they could harm the health of aquatic life we may eventually eat or interact with, making it worth understanding how these hidden pollutants move through the environment.
Toxicity of micro and nano tire particles and leachate for model freshwater organisms
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Researchers tested the toxicity of micro- and nano-sized tire particles and their chemical leachates on zebrafish embryos and water fleas, two commonly used model organisms. They found that nano-sized tire particles were more toxic than micro-sized ones, and that the chemical leachate alone also caused significant developmental harm to zebrafish. The study demonstrates that tire debris poses a meaningful environmental risk to freshwater organisms through both direct particle exposure and the release of harmful chemicals.
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