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Liver Damage in Ctenopharyngodon idellus Induced by Nanoplastics and Cadmium Exposure
Summary
Scientists found that when tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) and the toxic metal cadmium combine in water, they cause much more severe liver damage in fish than either pollutant does alone—weakening the fish's ability to fight inflammation and manage cell damage. Since these pollutants often show up together in real waterways and grass carp are a widely eaten fish, this research suggests we may be underestimating the health risks of combined pollution exposure, both for aquatic life and potentially for the people who rely on these fish as a food source.
Nanoplastics (NPs) and heavy metal cadmium (Cd) are common co-existing pollutants in freshwater environments, but their combined toxic effects on the liver of herbivorous economic fish remain unclear. In this study, grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) were exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs, 100 nm) and/or Cd to investigate their individual and combined effects on hepatic toxicity. The results revealed that co-exposure interactively suppressed interleukin-10 (IL-10) expression and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) antioxidant response, and induced more severe hepatic necrosis, melanization, and fibrinoid necrosis, with the highest integrated biomarker response index and extensive disruption of lipid and steroid metabolism pathways. This study clarified the toxicological interaction of NPs and Cd on the liver of grass carp, and provided a theoretical basis for understanding the combined toxicity of NPs and heavy metal pollution in extreme contamination scenarios or accidental pollution events.