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Maternal nanoplastic ingestion induces an increase in offspring body weight through altered lipid species and microbiota
Summary
Researchers found that when mother mice ingested nanoplastics derived from polystyrene and polypropylene during pregnancy and nursing, their offspring showed increased body weight gain. The weight changes were associated with alterations in fat metabolism and shifts in gut microbiome composition in the pups. The study suggests that maternal exposure to nanoplastic pollution may act as an environmental factor contributing to weight gain in offspring.
The rapidly increasing prevalence of obesity and overweight, especially in children and adolescents, has become a serious societal issue. Although various genetic and environmental risk factors for pediatric obesity and overweight have been identified, the problem has not been solved. In this study, we examined whether environmental nanoplastic (NP) pollutants can act as environmental obesogens using mouse models exposed to NPs derived from polystyrene and polypropylene, which are abundant in the environment. We found abnormal weight gain in the progeny until 6 weeks of age following the oral administration of NPs to the mother during gestation and lactation. Through a series of experiments involving multi-omic analyses, we have demonstrated that NP-induced weight gain is caused by alterations in the lipid composition (lysophosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylcholine ratio) of maternal breast milk and he gut microbiota distribution of the progeny. These data indicate that environmental NPs can act as obesogens in childhood.