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Neurobehavioral toxicity induced by combined exposure of micro/nanoplastics and triphenyltin in marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma)
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When marine medaka fish were exposed to both nanoplastics and the toxic chemical triphenyltin together, they showed much worse nerve and behavioral damage than from either pollutant alone. The combined exposure significantly reduced the fish's swimming ability and disrupted neural gene expression, with smaller nanoplastics causing more severe effects than larger microplastics. This highlights that real-world conditions, where microplastics coexist with other pollutants, may produce amplified toxic effects on the nervous system.
Microplastics/nanoplastics (MNPs) inevitably coexist with other pollutants in the natural environment, making it crucial to study the interactions between MNPs and other pollutants as well as their combined toxic effects. In this study, we investigated neurotoxicity in marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) exposed to polystyrene micro/nanoplastics (PS-MNPs), triphenyltin (TPT), and PS-MNPs + TPT from physiological, behavioral, biochemical, and genetic perspectives. The results showed that marine medaka exposed to 200 ng/L TPT or 200 μg/L PS-NPs alone exhibited some degree of neurodevelopmental deficit, albeit with no significant behavioral abnormalities observed. However, in the PS-MP single exposure group, the average acceleration of short-term behavioral indices was significantly increased by 78.81%, indicating a highly stress-responsive locomotor pattern exhibited by marine medaka. After exposure to PS-MNPs + TPT, the swimming ability of marine medaka significantly decreased. In addition, PS-MNPs + TPT exposure disrupted normal neural excitability as well as activated detoxification processes in marine medaka larvae. Notably, changes in neural-related genes suggested that combined exposure to PS-MNPs and TPT significantly increased the neurotoxic effects observed with exposure to PS-MNPs or TPT alone. Furthermore, compared to the PS-MPs + TPT group, PS-NPs + TPT significantly inhibited swimming behavior and thus exacerbated the neurotoxicity. Interestingly, the neurotoxicity of PS-MPs was more pronounced than that of PS-NPs in the exposure group alone. However, the addition of TPT significantly enhanced the neurotoxicity of PS-NPs compared to PS-MPs + TPT. Overall, the study underscores the combined neurotoxic effects of MNPs and TPT, providing in-depth insights into the ecotoxicological implications of MNPs coexisting with pollutants and furnishing comprehensive data.
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Multigenerational effects of combined exposure of triphenyltin and micro/nanoplastics on marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma): From molecular levels to behavioral response
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This study exposed marine medaka fish to a combination of micro/nanoplastics and triphenyltin, a toxic chemical used in paints and plastics. The pollutants caused oxidative stress, hormone imbalances, and behavioral changes that carried over to the next generation of fish. The findings show that microplastics combined with other environmental pollutants can cause harm that gets passed down to offspring, raising concerns about long-term effects on marine food webs.
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Researchers found that when zebrafish larvae were exposed to both polystyrene nanoplastics and the toxic chemical PCB-153 together, the neurological damage was significantly worse than from either pollutant alone. The combined exposure caused hyperactive swimming behavior and suppressed immune, brain, and detoxification pathways at the genetic level. This is concerning because nanoplastics and persistent organic pollutants frequently co-exist in the environment, meaning their real-world health effects on aquatic life and humans may be greater than studies of single pollutants suggest.
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