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Environmentally Relevant Polylactic Acid Microplastics from 3D Printing Induce Germline Apoptosis and Reproductive Decline in Caenorhabditis elegans
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Bio-based plastics like polylactic acid (PLA), often used in 3D printing, are marketed as eco-friendly alternatives to traditional plastics—but this study found that tiny PLA microplastic particles harmed the reproductive system of a lab worm (C. elegans), causing cell damage and reduced fertility, even though the worms' overall lifespan wasn't affected. While this research was done in worms, not humans, it raises a caution flag that "biodegradable" or "plant-based" plastics may not be as harmless as they seem, and more research is needed to understand what this means for human reproductive health.
Bio-based plastics, such as polylactic acid, offer an alternative to petroleum-based plastics and a prospect to address the plastic pollution problem. While mounting evidence suggests that microplastics pose a human health threat, the risk from bio-based plastics is unknown. Here, we use Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate the effects of secondary microplastics from 3D-printed polylactic acid on fertility and lifespan. We have created and characterized microplastics from a 3D-printed item using cryogenic milling. Using these microplastics, we exposed C. elegans and assessed lifespan, reproduction, and various stress responses. Our studies demonstrate that exposure to 1 ug/L polylactic acid microplastics reduces fertility and alters the gonad structure. When examining germline integrity, we find chromosomal disorganization in the gonad after polylactic acid microplastic exposure and increased apoptotic cell death, which correlates with a DAF-16/FOXO and gst-4 oxidative stress response. While lifespan has been observed to decrease with exposure to microplastics of different polymer types, we did not observe a change in lifespan with exposure to polylactic acid microplastics. The germline is likely more sensitive than somatic tissues under our exposure conditions. The reduction in fertility is driven by alterations to the germline, characterized by chromosome aberrations, oxidative stress, and cell death.
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