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Microplastics induced developmental toxicity with microcirculation dysfunction in zebrafish embryos
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Researchers exposed zebrafish embryos to polystyrene microplastics (1 micrometer) and nanoplastics (0.4 micrometer) to assess developmental toxicity. They found that nanoplastics caused significantly higher mortality and more severe microcirculation dysfunction than microplastics, despite being less visible in solution. The study indicates that smaller plastic particles may pose greater developmental risks to aquatic organisms during early life stages.
Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) have attracted worldwide attention as potential environmental pollutants. However, toxic effects of exposure to MPs and NPs on organisms at developmental stages have not been elucidated yet. In this study, zebrafish embryos at early stage were used to evaluate potential toxic effects of exposure to MPs with diameter of 1 μm and NPs with diameter of 0.4 μm. Solution containing NPs was optically more transparent than solution containing MPs at the same mass concentration. However, exposure to NPs induced significantly higher mortality rate of zebrafish embryos than exposure to MPs. Exposure to MPs or NPs caused pathological changes of caudal vein plexus. In addition, caudal tissues were impaired with inhibition of intact growth of zebrafish embryos. Peripheral microcirculation at caudal region was significantly deteriorated by exposure to MPs or NPs. However, systematic perfusion was still maintained with preservation of RBC velocity profiles regardless of exposure to MPs or NPs. This study provides a new insight to the use of plastics, demonstrating that exposure to MPs or NPs can lead to developmental disorder with significant impairment of growth and peripheral microcirculation dysfunction.
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Down to size: Exploring the influence of plastic particle Dimensions on physiological and nervous responses in early-stage zebrafish
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Researchers compared the effects of microplastics versus nanoplastics on developing zebrafish and found that only the nanoplastics (250 nanometers) were small enough to pass through the protective egg membrane and directly reach the embryo. The nanoplastics caused heart rate changes and neurotoxic effects at the larval stage, while the larger microplastics mainly affected the embryos indirectly from outside. This demonstrates that smaller plastic particles are more dangerous during early development because they can bypass protective barriers.
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