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Effect of Early Life Exposure of Polystyrene Microplastics on Behavior and DNA Methylation in Later Life Stage of Zebrafish
Summary
Zebrafish were exposed to polystyrene microplastics early in life, and researchers tracked behavioral changes and DNA methylation patterns in adulthood. Early microplastic exposure led to anxiety-like behavior and altered DNA methylation in the brain. This suggests microplastics may cause lasting changes to brain development through epigenetic mechanisms.
Abstract Microplastic contamination has received increasing attention in recent years, and concern regarding the toxicity of microplastics to the environment and humans has increased. In this study, we investigated the neurodevelopmental toxicity of polystyrene microplastics (PSMPs) in the zebrafish Danio rerio under different exposure scenario. We investigated the effect of early life exposure to PSMPs on responses later in life, under different exposure scenarios. Zebrafish were exposed to PSMPs during embrionic stage, then allowed the fish to recover. The neurodevelopmental toxic responses were investigated using fish behavior and behavior-related gene expression. Early life exposure to PSMPs did not alter fish behavior at the early stage, however, it led to hyperactivity later life-stage. Generally, oxidative stress (i.e. sod2 and nrf2a) and nervous system (i.e. slc6a4b, npy and nrbf2)-related gene expression increased in all PSMPs-exposed fish. DNA hypomethylation was observed in fish challenged for a second time using the same PSMPs. Taken together, the current results imply that PSMPs have neurodevelopmental toxic potential when introduced early in life.