Subchronic oral exposure to polystyrene microplastics affects hepatic lipid metabolism, inflammation, and oxidative balance in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety2024
24 citations
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Score: 65
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Filomena Del Piano,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Filomena Del Piano,
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Filomena Del Piano,
Filomena Del Piano,
Filomena Del Piano,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Filomena Del Piano,
Filomena Del Piano,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Filomena Del Piano,
Filomena Del Piano,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Adriano Lama,
Adriano Lama,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Adriano Lama,
Adriano Lama,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Nicola Francesco Addeo,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Giovanni Piccolo,
Giovanni Piccolo,
Filomena Del Piano,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Filomena Del Piano,
Adriano Lama,
Adriano Lama,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Giovanni Piccolo,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Claudio Pirozzi,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Nicola Francesco Addeo,
Nicola Francesco Addeo,
Giovanni Piccolo,
Giovanni Piccolo,
Rosaria Meli,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Giovanni Piccolo,
Nicola Francesco Addeo,
Nicola Francesco Addeo,
Giovanni Piccolo,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Giovanni Piccolo,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Orlando Paciello,
Sergio Esposito,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Sergio Esposito,
Nicola Francesco Addeo,
Nicola Francesco Addeo,
Orlando Paciello,
Sergio Esposito,
Sergio Esposito,
Adriano Lama,
Giovanni Martino,
Giovanni Martino,
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Sergio Esposito,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Claudio Pirozzi,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Sergio Esposito,
Raffaelina Mercogliano,
Rosaria Meli,
Rosaria Meli,
Rosaria Meli,
Rosaria Meli,
Rosaria Meli,
Claudio Pirozzi,
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Rosaria Meli,
Rosaria Meli,
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Bethanie Carney Almroth,
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Maria Carmela Ferrante
Summary
Gilthead seabream fed polystyrene microplastics for 21 days developed signs of liver damage including fat buildup, inflammation, and oxidative stress -- changes similar to early-stage fatty liver disease. Since fish liver responds to microplastics in ways comparable to mammalian livers, these findings raise concerns about what chronic microplastic exposure might do to liver health in humans and other animals.
Microplastics (MPs) pose a clear threat to aquatic organisms affecting their health. Their impact on liver homeostasis, as well as on the potential onset of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is still poorly investigated and remains almost unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of subchronic exposure to polystyrene MPs (PS-MPs; 1-20 μm; 0, 25, or 250 mg/kg b.w./day) on lipid metabolism, inflammation, and oxidative balance in the liver of gilthead seabreams (Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758) exposed for 21 days via contaminated food. PS-MPs induced an up-regulation of mRNA levels of crucial genes associated with lipid synthesis and storage (i.e., PPARy, Srebp1, Fasn) without modifications of genes involved in lipid catabolism (i.e., PPARα, HL, Pla2) or transport and metabolism (Fabp1) in the liver. The increase of CSF1R and pro-inflammatory cytokines gene expression (i.e., TNF-α and IL-1β) was also observed in exposed fish in a dose-dependent manner. These findings were confirmed by hepatic histological evaluations reporting evidence of lipid accumulation, inflammation, and necrosis. Moreover, PS-MPs caused the impairment of the hepatic antioxidant defense system through the alteration of its enzymatic (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione reductase) and non-enzymatic (glutathione) components, resulting in the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), as biomarkers of oxidative damage. The alteration of detoxifying enzymes was inferred by the decreased Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity and the increased activity of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) at the highest PS-MP dose. The study suggests that PS-MPs affect the liver health of gilthead seabream. The liver dysfunction and damage caused by exposure to PS-MPs result from a detrimental interplay of inflammation, oxidative damage, and antioxidant and detoxifying enzymatic systems modifications, altering the gut-liver axis homeostasis. This scenario is suggestive of the involvement of MP-induced effects in the onset and progression of hepatic lipid dysfunction in gilthead seabream.