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Sublethal Biochemical Effects of Polyethylene Microplastics and TBBPA in Experimentally Exposed Freshwater Shrimp Palaemonetes argentinus
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Researchers assessed the biochemical effects of polyethylene microplastics and the flame retardant TBBPA, individually and combined, on freshwater shrimp at environmentally realistic concentrations. The study found that combined exposure decreased acetylcholinesterase and glutathione S-transferase activity while increasing thyroid hormone T4 levels, suggesting disruption of nervous system function, xenobiotic metabolism, and endocrine regulation. These results indicate that co-exposure to microplastics and plastic additives may compromise key physiological processes in freshwater crustaceans.
The biochemical effects of sublethal exposure to polyethylene microplastics (PEM) of 40-48 µm particle size and the flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), a plastic additive, on the freshwater shrimp Palaemonetes argentinus were assessed. Here, we postulate that the use of enzyme and thyroid hormones as biomarkers contributes to the knowledge of the effects of microplastics and plastic additives on freshwater crustaceans. To address this, we evaluated the activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and carboxilesterase (CbE, using 1-naphthyl acetate (NA) as substrate) and levels of the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) after shrimp were exposed (for 96 h) to these xenobiotics at environmentally realistic concentrations. The results showed that the mixture of both xenobiotics led to a decrease in AChE and GST activities and increased T4 levels. We suggest that physiological processes could be compromised in freshwater organisms when exposed to microplastics and TBBPA together, and this could ultimately affect upper levels of the food web.
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