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Long-term exposure to polystyrene microplastics triggers premature testicular aging

Particle and Fibre Toxicology 2023 84 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Deyi Wu, Meng Zhang, Ting Ting Bao, Hainan Lan

Summary

Long-term exposure to polystyrene microplastics was found to trigger premature aging in mouse testes through a chain reaction involving calcium buildup, oxidative stress, and inflammatory signaling. This suggests that ongoing microplastic exposure could harm male reproductive health by accelerating the aging of reproductive organs. The findings raise concerns about fertility impacts as humans continue to accumulate microplastics over a lifetime.

Polymers
Body Systems

In short, our experimental results revealed that PS-MPs-caused testicular premature aging is dependent on Ca2+/ROS/NF-κB signaling axis. The current study lays the foundation for further exploration of the effects of microplastics on testicular toxicology.

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