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Nanoplastic at environmentally relevant concentrations activates a germline mir-240-rab-5 signaling cascade to affect the secreted ligands associated with transgenerational toxicity induction in C. elegans
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Researchers found that nanoplastics at levels commonly found in the environment activated a specific genetic signaling pathway in roundworms that caused toxic effects passed down across multiple generations. The nanoplastics triggered changes in gene regulation that affected offspring who were never directly exposed to the plastic particles. This is particularly alarming because it suggests that nanoplastic exposure could have health consequences not just for the individual exposed but for their children and grandchildren through inherited genetic changes.
Epigenetic regulation plays an important role in regulating the transgenerational toxicity of pollutants.
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Nanoplastic Exposure at Predicted Environmental Concentrations Induces Activation of Germline Ephrin Signal Associated with Toxicity Formation in the Caenorhabditis elegans Offspring
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Researchers discovered that nanoplastic exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations activates the germline Ephrin signaling pathway in C. elegans, revealing a molecular mechanism underlying transgenerational toxicity formation in offspring.
Amino-modified nanoplastics at predicted environmental concentrations cause transgenerational toxicity through activating germline EGF signal in Caenorhabditis elegans
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Researchers found that amino-modified nanoplastics, even at concentrations expected in the real environment, can cause toxic effects that pass from one generation to the next in the roundworm C. elegans. The transgenerational harm was linked to activation of a specific growth factor signal in reproductive cells. The study suggests that surface chemistry on nanoplastics may amplify their biological risks beyond what the base plastic alone would cause.
Activation of FGF signal in germline mediates transgenerational toxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles at predicted environmental concentrations in Caenorhabditis elegans
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Using the roundworm C. elegans as a model, researchers investigated how nanoplastic exposure causes toxic effects that persist across generations. They found that polystyrene nanoparticles activate a specific growth factor signaling pathway in reproductive cells, which then transmits harmful effects to offspring. The study provides molecular evidence for how even low, environmentally relevant concentrations of nanoplastics can cause damage that carries over to future generations.
Nanoplastics cause transgenerational toxicity through inhibiting germline microRNA mir-38 in C. elegans
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Researchers used the model organism C. elegans to investigate how nanoplastic exposure causes transgenerational toxicity through effects on germline microRNA. The study found that polystyrene nanoparticles decreased expression of germline miRNA mir-38, and that overexpressing this miRNA conferred resistance to transgenerational toxicity. The findings suggest that nanoplastics can cause heritable toxic effects across generations by disrupting germline gene regulation.
Induction of transgenerational toxicity is associated with the activated germline insulin signals in nematodes exposed to nanoplastic at predicted environmental concentrations
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Researchers found that exposure to polystyrene nanoparticles at environmentally relevant concentrations activated insulin signaling pathways in the nematode C. elegans, and these effects were transmitted to offspring. The study suggests that activation of specific insulin ligands in the germline mediates the transgenerational toxicity of nanoplastics, meaning parental exposure can affect subsequent generations.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.