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Nrf2-mediated ferroptosis of spermatogenic cells involved in male reproductive toxicity induced by polystyrene nanoplastics in mice
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When polystyrene nanoplastics were injected into the bloodstream of mice, they accumulated in the testes and caused significant damage to sperm-producing cells through a process called ferroptosis, a type of iron-dependent cell death. The nanoplastics disrupted a key protective pathway (Nrf2) that normally prevents this type of cell death. These findings suggest that nanoplastic exposure could harm male fertility by directly damaging the cells responsible for producing sperm.
Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) have become hazardous materials due to the massive amount of plastic waste and disposable masks, but their specific health effects remain uncertain. In this study, fluorescence-labeled polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs) were injected into the circulatory systems of mice to determine the distribution and potential toxic effects of NPs in vivo. Interestingly, whole-body imaging found that PS-NPs accumulated in the testes of mice. Therefore, the toxic effects of PS-NPs on the reproduction systems and the spermatocytes cell line of male mice, and their mechanisms, were investigated. After oral exposure to PS-NPs, their spermatogenesis was affected and the spermatogenic cells were damaged. The spermatocyte cell line GC-2 was exposed to PS-NPs and analyzed using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to determine the toxic mechanisms; a ferroptosis pathway was found after PS-NP exposure. The phenomena and indicators of ferroptosis were then determined and verified by ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1), and it was also found that nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) played an important role in spermatogenic cell ferroptosis induced by PS-NPs. Finally, it was confirmed in vivo that this mechanism of Nrf2 played a protective role in PS-NPs-induced male reproductive toxicity. This study demonstrated that PS-NPs induce male reproductive dysfunction in mice by causing spermatogenic cell ferroptosis dependent on Nrf2.
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Researchers showed that polystyrene nanoplastics induce ferroptosis — an iron-dependent form of cell death — in mouse sperm precursor cells by promoting the ubiquitin-tagged degradation of the iron-export protein ferroportin1, causing iron to accumulate inside cells, driving lipid peroxidation and mitochondrial damage.
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