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Amino-modified nanoplastics at predicted environmental concentrations cause transgenerational toxicity through activating germline EGF signal in Caenorhabditis elegans
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Researchers found that amino-modified nanoplastics, even at concentrations expected in the real environment, can cause toxic effects that pass from one generation to the next in the roundworm C. elegans. The transgenerational harm was linked to activation of a specific growth factor signal in reproductive cells. The study suggests that surface chemistry on nanoplastics may amplify their biological risks beyond what the base plastic alone would cause.
In the real environment, some chemical functional groups are unavoidably combined on the nanoplastic surface. Reportedly, amino-modified polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-A NPs) exposure in parents can induce severe transgenerational toxicity, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unclear. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as the animal model, this study was performed to investigate the role of germline epidermal growth factor (EGF) signal on modulating PS-A NPs' transgenerational toxicity. As a result, 1-10 μg/L PS-A NPs exposure transgenerationally enhanced germline EGF ligand/LIN-3 and NSH-1 levels. Germline RNAi of lin-3 and nsh-1 was resistant against PS-A NPs' transgenerational toxicity, implying the involvement of EGF ligand activation in inducing PS-A NPs' transgenerational toxicity. Furthermore, LIN-3 overexpression transgenerationally enhanced EGF receptor/LET-23 expression in the progeny, and let-23 RNAi in F1-generation notably suppressed PS-A NPs' transgenerational toxicity in the exposed worms overexpressing germline LIN-3 at P0 generation. Finally, LET-23 functioned in neurons and intestine for regulating PS-A NPs' transgenerational toxicity. LET-23 acted at the upstream DAF-16/FOXO within the intestine in response to PS-A NPs' transgenerational toxicity. In neurons, LET-23 functioned at the upstream of DAF-7/DBL-1, ligands of TGF-β signals, to mediate PS-A NPs' transgenerational toxicity. Briefly, this work revealed the exposure risk of PS-A NPs' transgenerational toxicity, which was regulated through activating germline EGF signal in organisms.
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Using the roundworm C. elegans as a model, researchers investigated how nanoplastic exposure causes toxic effects that persist across generations. They found that polystyrene nanoparticles activate a specific growth factor signaling pathway in reproductive cells, which then transmits harmful effects to offspring. The study provides molecular evidence for how even low, environmentally relevant concentrations of nanoplastics can cause damage that carries over to future generations.
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