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Micro- and nanoplastics as vectors of aquatic pollutants and genotoxicity: An integrated review across aquatic and mammalian systems with special reference to the scenario in India
Summary
This review pulls together research on tiny plastic particles (microplastics and nanoplastics) that pollute water and can carry other harmful chemicals, like industrial toxins and heavy metals, hitching a ride into fish, aquatic organisms, and even human cells studied in labs. The key concern: these plastic particles trigger cell stress that can damage DNA, with smaller particles causing more harm—raising red flags about long-term health risks as plastics keep building up in our water and food chain. While most direct evidence so far comes from animal and lab-based studies, the findings suggest we need better testing standards and pollution controls to protect
Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are environmental pollutants with paramount implications for aquatic ecosystems and, through that route, human health, particularly due to their oxidative stress-mediated genotoxic potential. This review is a synthesis of findings from recent studies, with emphasis on the scenario in India, on the bioavailability, toxicological risks, and cellular mechanisms of MPs and NPs (MNPs) in various organisms, separately addressing evidence from aquatic models, including marine mussels, common carp, zebrafish, rotifers, etc., and mammalian systems relying essentially on in vitro studies. Key evidence indicates that MPs adsorb persistent organic pollutants like Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), enhancing their bioavailability and inducing oxidative stress, immunological alterations, and developmental toxicity, which are closely associated with DNA damage and chromosome instability. As regards aquatic organisms, combined exposure to MPs and heavy metals to fish models exacerbates biochemical disruptions and immune suppression, along with oxidative stress-linked genotoxic responses such as DNA strand breaks and micronucleus formation. Zebrafish embryos exhibit microcirculation dysfunction and pathological angiogenesis upon NP exposure. Mammalian cell studies reveal size-dependent cytotoxicity, with smaller NPs causing greater oxidative damage and membrane disruption, which triggers mitochondrial dysfunction, excessive ROS production, cell-cycle arrest, and activation of DNA damage response pathways, evidenced by micronucleus formation, chromosomal abnormalities, and oxidative DNA lesions. Overall, toxicity is influenced by particle size, charge and co-contaminants, with oxidative stress emerging as the central mechanism that connects cellular toxicity to genetic damage. This review underscores the urgent need for integrated, multidisciplinary approaches to assess the environmental and toxicological risks of MNPs with special emphasis on standardized genotoxicity assessment, while informing regulatory and mitigation strategies for the future.