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Ototoxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in mice, HEI-OC1 cells and zebrafish

Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience 2024 7 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Yuancheng Wu, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Lihuan Tang, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lihuan Tang, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Li Zhao, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Huangruici Zhang, Huangruici Zhang, Daoli Xie, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Daoli Xie, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Ruishuang Geng, Ruishuang Geng, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Tihua Zheng, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Liyan Bi, Lianzhen Li, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Xiaodan Wei, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Han–Jung Chae, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lan Wang, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Li Zhao, Li Zhao, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Lianzhen Li, Bo Li, Qingyin Zheng, Qingyin Zheng

Summary

Researchers discovered that polystyrene nanoplastics can enter auditory organs and cause hearing-related damage in mice, cell cultures, and zebrafish. The nanoplastics triggered cell death and oxidative stress in hair cells responsible for detecting sound, leading to measurable hearing impairment. The study identifies the auditory system as a previously unrecognized target of nanoplastic toxicity, suggesting that exposure to these particles may pose risks to hearing health.

Polymers

Body Systems

Immune Nervous

Models

Mouse Zebrafish

Polystyrene nanoplastics are a novel class of pollutants. They are easily absorbed by living organisms, and their potential toxicity has raised concerns. However, the impact of polystyrene nanoplastics on auditory organs remains unknown. Here, our results showed that polystyrene nanoplastics entered the cochlea of mice, HEI-OC1 cells, and lateral line hair cells of zebrafish, causing cellular injury and increasing apoptosis. Additionally, we found that exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics resulted in a significant elevation in the auditory brainstem response thresholds, a loss of auditory sensory hair cells, stereocilia degeneration and a decrease in expression of Claudin-5 and Occludin proteins at the blood-lymphatic barrier in mice. We also observed a significant decrease in the acoustic alarm response of zebrafish after exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics. Mechanistic analysis revealed that polystyrene nanoplastics induced up-regulation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, increased levels of malondialdehyde, and decreased superoxide dismutase and catalase levels in cochlea and HEI-OC1 cells. Furthermore, we observed that the expression of ferroptosis-related indicators GPX4 and SLC7A11 decreased as well as increased expression of ACLS4 in cochlea and HEI-OC1 cells. This study also revealed that polystyrene nanoplastics exposure led to increased expression of the inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β and COX2 in cochlea and HEI-OC1 cells. Further research found that the cell apoptosis, ferroptosis and inflammatory reactions induced by polystyrene nanoplastics in HEI-OC1 cells was reversed through the pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine, a reactive oxygen species inhibitor. Overall, our study first discovered and systematically revealed the ototoxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics and its underlying mechanism.

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