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Size- and duration-dependent toxicity of heavy vehicle tire wear particles in zebrafish
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Researchers exposed zebrafish to heavy vehicle tire wear particles of two sizes over 15 and 90 days, finding that smaller particles triggered broader systemic stress and gut microbiota dysbiosis while larger particles caused more localized damage, and that both sizes produced transgenerational effects including impaired offspring growth and disrupted growth hormone signaling.
Tire wear particles (TWPs), as a pervasive environmental pollutant, pose significant risks to aquatic ecosystems. This study investigates the effects of small (HS) and large (HL) TWPs produced by heavy vehicles on zebrafish, focusing on physiological, microbial, and transcriptomic levels, as well as their intergenerational consequences, under short-term (15 days) and long-term (90 days) exposure. Short-term exposure to small particles (HS15) significantly reduced body width and triggered widespread oxidative stress, while long-term exposure to large particles (HL90) increased gut weight and decreased gill weight, reflecting respiratory and digestive disruptions. Tissue-level analyses revealed that smaller particles accumulated more readily in internal organs, whereas larger particles caused localized physiological stress. Gut microbiota profiling indicated a marked decline in microbial diversity, compositional shifts, and network simplification, with HL15 enriched in Acinetobacter and xenobiotic metabolism pathways, and HS15 exhibiting Proteobacteria-dominated dysbiosis and enrichment of LPS biosynthesis genes. Liver transcriptomics revealed group-specific responses: HL15 exposure activated innate immunity via the NOD-MAPK axis, while HS15 induced atypical PI3K-NF-κB signaling, potentially linked to microbial LPS. Notably, all TWP-exposed groups showed enrichment of the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection pathway, suggesting a conserved antiviral-like host response. Transgenerational effects were evidenced by impaired growth and significant downregulation of GH/IGF signaling and upregulation of apoptotic genes in offspring, despite only subtle transcriptomic changes in long-term exposed parents. These findings underscore the importance of particle size, exposure duration, and microbiota-gut-liver axis interactions in mediating TWP toxicity and highlight potential transgenerational risks associated with environmental microplastic exposure.
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Vehicle-specific toxicological profiles of tire wear particles: Physiological, microbial, and transcriptomic disruptions in zebrafish induced by light and heavy-duty vehicle emissions
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Researchers compared the toxicity of tire wear particles from heavy-duty versus light-duty vehicles in zebrafish and found that heavy-duty particles caused more severe effects. Heavy-duty tire wear particles led to greater growth reduction, sustained oxidative stress, significant gut microbiome disruption, and more pronounced liver gene expression changes compared to light-duty particles.
Size-dependent ecotoxicological impacts of tire wear particles on zebrafish physiology and gut microbiota: Implications for aquatic ecosystem health
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Researchers found that tire wear particles, a major but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution, affect zebrafish health differently depending on particle size. Smaller particles caused more severe gut microbiome disruption, oxidative stress, and immune responses, suggesting that tire-derived microplastics in waterways may pose a greater health risk to aquatic life than previously recognized.
Divergent impacts of leached versus pristine tire wear particles on zebrafish: From physiological stress to gut microbiota dysbiosis
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Researchers exposed zebrafish to tire wear particles that had been leached with water or methanol to remove chemical extractables, finding that leaching shifts the primary hazard from acute chemical toxicity toward chronic tissue damage and gut microbiome dysbiosis — with methanol-leached particles causing the most severe injury and collapsing gut microbial diversity by over 60%.
Multigenerational toxic effects in Daphnia pulex are induced by environmental concentrations of tire wear particle leachate
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Tiny water fleas exposed to chemicals leaching from tire wear particles across three generations showed impaired growth, delayed reproduction, and reduced offspring, even at concentrations found in the environment. These effects carried over to unexposed offspring, suggesting that tire-derived pollution can cause harm that passes from one generation to the next.
Toxicity of micro and nano tire particles and leachate for model freshwater organisms
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Researchers tested the toxicity of micro- and nano-sized tire particles and their chemical leachates on zebrafish embryos and water fleas, two commonly used model organisms. They found that nano-sized tire particles were more toxic than micro-sized ones, and that the chemical leachate alone also caused significant developmental harm to zebrafish. The study demonstrates that tire debris poses a meaningful environmental risk to freshwater organisms through both direct particle exposure and the release of harmful chemicals.
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