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Embryonic exposure of polystyrene nanoplastics affects cardiac development
Summary
Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics disrupted the development of heart cells grown from human embryonic stem cells, producing smaller and weaker heart tissue in the lab. The nanoplastics caused oxidative stress in mitochondria and blocked important cellular cleanup processes, reducing the stem cells' ability to properly form heart cells. In zebrafish embryos, nanoplastic exposure also reduced heart contractions and blood flow, suggesting that nanoplastic exposure during pregnancy could pose risks to fetal heart development.
Micro- and nanoplastics have recently been detected in human blood and placentas, indicating inevitable embryonic exposure to these particles. However, their influence on human embryogenesis and the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. In this study, the effects of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) exposure on cardiac differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were evaluated. Uptake of PS-NPs not only caused cellular injury, but also regulated cardiac-related pathways as revealed by RNA-sequencing. Consequently, the efficiency of cardiomyocyte differentiation from hESCs was compromised, leading to immature of cardiomyocytes and smaller cardiac organoids with impaired contractility. Mechanistically, PS-NPs promoted mitochondrial oxidative stress, activated P38/Erk MAPK signaling pathway, blocked autophagy flux, and eventually reduced the pluripotency of hESCs. Consistently, in vivo exposure of PS-NPs from cleavage to gastrula period of zebrafish embryo led to reduced cardiac contraction and blood flow. Collectively, this study suggests that PS-NPs is a risk factor for fetal health, especially for heart development.
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