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Exposure to Nanoplastics During Pregnancy Induces Brown Adipose Tissue Whitening in Male Offspring

Toxics 2025 2 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 58 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Zhaoping Shen, Kai Tian, Jiayi Tang, Lin Wang, Feng Zhang, Liyan Yang, Yufei Ge, Mengna Jiang, Mengna Jiang, Xinyuan Zhao, Jinxian Yang, Guangdi Chen, Xiaoke Wang

Summary

Researchers found that exposing pregnant mice to polystyrene nanoplastics caused changes in the brown fat tissue of their male offspring, shifting it toward white fat characteristics associated with obesity. This transformation was driven by disruptions in fat production and a cellular recycling process called lipophagy. The study suggests that nanoplastic exposure during pregnancy could increase obesity risk in offspring by altering how their bodies regulate fat storage and energy burning.

These findings indicate that gestational PSNP exposure plays a role in the development of obesity in offspring through the whitening of brown adipose tissue, which is triggered by lipogenesis and lipophagy inhibition, providing a novel insight into the metabolic risks associated with gestational PSNPs exposure.

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