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The modulatory effects of polystyrene microplastics on BPA-induced DNA damage and neurotoxicity during early stages development in zebrafish
Summary
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.
The increasing spread of microplastics and bisphenol A in the environment is a cause for concern regarding the health of all organisms. Their simultaneous presence in the environment causes an interaction about which little is still known. This study adds information to our previous research focusing on the interaction between polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) and bisphenol A (BPA). We investigated neurotoxicity and analyzed the role of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) as an early sensor of the cellular response to genotoxic stress induced by BPA and PS-MPs in zebrafish embryos for 72 h of exposure. The results showed that PS-MPs and BPA impaired the PARP expression and activity, as well as the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein. BPA reduced acetylcholinesterase activity unlike PS-MPs alone. Finally, analysis of gene expression for markers associated with neurodevelopmental (nkx2.2a, elavl3, nes, syne1a, reln, gabrr2, gria3a, parp1 and gfap) revealed significant dysregulation in all treated groups. It is interesting to note that, in all the analyses conducted, an improvement in damage was observed in the co-exposed group, confirming the results of the previous study. These results also underscore the importance of studying the interactions between environmental pollutants to better understand their resulting effects.