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Metabolomics reveals the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in the gills of Acrossocheilus yunnanensis
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Researchers used metabolomics to study how polystyrene nanoplastics affect the gills of the freshwater fish Acrossocheilus yunnanensis. They found that nanoplastic exposure caused oxidative stress, tissue lesions, and significant disruption of lipid metabolism, particularly glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid pathways. The study suggests that nanoplastics primarily harm fish gills by damaging tissue integrity and disrupting the lipid balance that maintains cell membrane function.
Although the ecotoxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NP) to fish has been widely reported, their impact on the metabolic processes in fish gills and the underlying mechanisms remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of PS-NP on the morphology, oxidative stress, and metabolism of Acrossocheilus yunnanensis gills using conventional physicochemical indicators and metabolomics analysis. The results showed that PS-NP caused oxidative stress, and resulted in gill tissue lesions (e.g., proliferation and sloughing of gill epithelial cells). Metabolomics results showed that PS-NP exposure induced 75-164 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) in fish gills, and they were mainly related to lipid metabolism. DEMs induced by high concentration of PS-NP compared with low concentration of PS-NP were not only significantly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism, but also in sphingolipid metabolism, nucleic acid metabolism, and a variety of signaling pathways. In conclusion, the results of this work suggest that PS-NP cause disruption of phospholipid metabolism mainly by disrupting the integrity of gill tissue, which provides a new perspective for understanding the impact mechanism of PS-NP on fish gills. Given that fish play essential roles in maintaining ecological balance, the adverse effects of PS-NP on fish gills could ultimately disrupt the stability and health of the aquatic ecosystem.
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