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Polyethylene microplastics affect osmoregulation, overall metabolism and induce anxiety in zebrafish.
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles called microplastics can build up in fish gills and intestines, throwing off their body's salt and water balance, forcing their metabolism to work harder, and even making them more anxious. While this study was done in zebrafish, not humans, it's a reminder that microplastics, now found in our water, food, and even our blood, may have real physiological effects worth taking seriously as research on human health impacts continues.
Polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) are widespread aquatic pollutants whose effects on biota vary across species. In fish, MPs can damage gill and digestive structures, with deleterious consequences for health. However, the mechanisms of action and associated physiological responses remain poorly understood. This study examined the effects of an ecologically relevant exposure to 250 μg L PE-MPs on zebrafish over a period of 15 days. PE-MPs were detected and physically retained on key osmoregulatory tissues (gills and intestine), maintaining stable tissue-associated concentrations throughout the exposure period. After 7 days, disturbances in water-ion balance were evident, including increased muscle water content. These imbalances persisted through day 15, and were accompanied by elevated gill ATPases activity and increased skin permeability. Plasma analysis revealed increased chloride and phosphate levels. As a compensatory response, oxygen consumption and hematocrit increased, indicating heightened metabolic demand. These physiological changes were associated with behavioral alterations indicative of increased anxiety in an open field test. Collectively, these findings demonstrate a cascade of disruptions in ion regulation, metabolism, and behavior caused by PE-MPs exposure, ultimately compromising fish well-being. The methodologies used here may facilitate the assessment of similar contaminants across species and contribute to the standardization of toxicological studies, an essential need given the diversity and methodological variability of current research in this field.
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Microplastic-induced neurotoxicity in Zebrafish: Current evidence and underlying mechanisms
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This review pulls together existing research showing that microplastics can build up in the brains of zebrafish (a common lab fish used to study biology similar to humans), causing damage to brain cells, disrupting chemical signals, and triggering changes in behavior like increased anxiety. While this research is in fish, not humans, it raises real concerns about what these tiny plastic particles—which we're increasingly exposed to through food and water—might be doing to our own brains, and signals a need for more research on this front.
Microplastics influence size-selected zebrafish behaviour
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Scientists exposed fish to microplastics (tiny plastic particles) and found that the contamination changed how the fish behaved - making them less bold and exploratory, but causing them to eat more often. This matters because microplastics are everywhere in our environment, including in seafood we eat, and this study shows these particles can alter animal behavior in ways that might affect entire food chains. The findings help us understand how plastic pollution could be disrupting aquatic ecosystems that humans depend on for food.
Microplastic Exposure Disrupts Energy Homeostasis and Welfare in Goldfish
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Researchers exposed goldfish to polystyrene microplastics for 14 days and found that the particles suppressed appetite through neuroendocrine disruption — downregulating hunger-signaling neuropeptides and elevating cortisol — while simultaneously increasing metabolic demand, resulting in impaired growth and anxiety-like behavior.
Dose Dependent Effects of Two Polymeric Materials and Similarities with Certain Drugs
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Zebrafish exposed repeatedly to polyethylene microplastics showed dose-dependent anxiogenic (anxiety-like) behaviour, while polypropylene microplastics produced the opposite, anxiolytic effect, with both polymers altering swimming performance over 120 hours. The contrasting neurobehavioural responses to different polymer types suggest that lumping all microplastics together in toxicity assessments may obscure important differences in their effects on the nervous system.
Acute toxic effects of polyethylene microplastic on adult zebrafish
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Researchers exposed adult zebrafish to polyethylene microplastics of various sizes to identify physical effects, behavioral changes, and gene expression impacts. They found that microplastic ingestion varied by particle size and that exposure altered expression of detoxification and reproduction-related genes. The study suggests that microplastic pollution at environmentally relevant concentrations could affect both the health and reproductive capacity of fish.
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