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Effect of functional groups of polystyrene nanoplastics on the neurodevelopmental toxicity of acrylamide in the early life stage of zebrafish
Summary
This zebrafish study found that nanoplastics with different surface coatings altered the neurodevelopmental toxicity of acrylamide, a common food contaminant formed during cooking. Positively charged nanoplastics worsened brain development problems by increasing acrylamide absorption, while negatively charged ones had a partially protective effect. The findings show that the surface chemistry of nanoplastics matters greatly for how they interact with other environmental contaminants to affect brain development.
Polystyrene nanoplastics (PS NPs) and acrylamide (ACR), both emerging contaminants, have been found to be related to neurotoxicity. However, the effects of PS NPs on ACR-induced neurodevelopmental toxicity remain unclear. In this study, anionic carboxyl polystyrene nanoplastics (PS NPs-COOH), cationic amino polystyrene nanoplastics (PS NPs-NH) and unmodified PS NPs were selected to investigate their interaction with ACR. A serious of the neurotoxicity biomarkers from individual to molecular level were evaluated to explore the specific mechanisms. The results indicated that the unmodified PS NPs had the most significant impact on embryonic development at low concentrations in combination with ACR. The toxicity of the other two functionalized PS NPs increased with concentration, exhibiting a clear dose-response relationship. Meanwhile, all three kinds of PS NPs significantly enhanced the impacts of ACR on the locomotion behavior of zebrafish larvae. Analysis of zebrafish nervous system development showed that PS NPs-COOH exhibit greater toxicity to the central nervous system. In contrast, PS NPs-NH had a more significant impact on the motor nervous system. Gene expression analysis revealed that ACR and PS NPs significantly affected the expression levels of neurodevelopmental related genes, including Neurog1, Elavl3, Gfap, Gap43, Mbpa, Shha. PS NPs modified with functional groups could induce corresponding neurotoxicity by affecting genes expression related to neuronal differentiation, motor neuron, and axonal development. Based on the comprehensive biomarker response index, the order of the impacts of NPs on the neurotoxicity of ACR was PS NPs-COOH > PS NPs-NH > PS NPs. In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the interactive biological effects of NPs and ACR on zebrafish embryo, contributing to a better understanding of their environmental risk to aquatic ecosystem.