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Platform to study intracellular polystyrene nanoplastic pollution and clinical outcomes
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Polystyrene nanoplastics exposed to human embryos and stem cells altered the expression of genes linked to heart valve development and eye development, and pathway analysis predicted increased risk for cardiovascular disease. The study presents a new platform for studying nanoplastic effects on early human development.
Increased pollution by plastics has become a serious global environmental problem, but the concerns for human health have been raised after reported presence of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) in food and beverages. Unfortunately, few studies have investigate the potentially harmful effects of MPs/NPs on early human development and human health. Therefore, we used a new platform to study possible effects of polystyrene NPs (PSNPs) on the transcription profile of preimplantation human embryos and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Two pluripotency genes, LEFTY1 and LEFTY2, which encode secreted ligands of the transforming growth factor-beta, were downregulated, while CA4 and OCLM, which are related to eye development, were upregulated in both samples. The gene set enrichment analysis showed that the development of atrioventricular heart valves and the dysfunction of cellular components, including extracellular matrix, were significantly affected after exposure of hiPSCs to PSNPs. Finally, using the HiPathia method, which uncovers disease mechanisms and predicts clinical outcomes, we determined the APOC3 circuit, which is responsible for increased risk for ischemic cardiovascular disease. These results clearly demonstrate that better understanding of NPs bioactivities and its implications for human health is of extreme importance. Thus, the presented platform opens further aspects to study interactions between different environmental and intracellular pollutions with the aim to decipher the mechanism and origin of human diseases.
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Embryonic exposure of polystyrene nanoplastics affects cardiac development
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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.
Polystyrene nanoplastics induced toxicity in human endothelial cells via atherogenic and autophagy pathways.
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Researchers exposed human blood vessel cells and chicken embryos to polystyrene nanoplastics in lab tests. The particles entered the cells, altered interactions with immune cells, affected pathways linked to artery disease and cell cleanup processes, and caused heart tissue damage in the embryos after seven days.
Effects of Polystyrene Nanoplastics on the Biology of Human Neural Stem Cells and Human Cerebral Organoids.
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This study investigated the effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on human neural stem cells and human cerebral organoids, examining whether nanoplastics that have been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier and placenta can disrupt normal brain development. Given the lack of prior research on nanoplastic effects on the developing brain, the findings carry significant implications for understanding neurodevelopmental risks from early-life plastic exposure.
Developmental toxicity of microplastics in human stem cells using adverse outcome pathway based integrated approaches to testing and assessment approach
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Researchers applied an Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment framework to evaluate the developmental toxicity of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics using human embryonic stem cells. They found that stem cells took up the plastic particles and showed size-dependent cytotoxicity and effects on germ layer differentiation. The study provides a structured, non-animal testing framework for assessing developmental risks from emerging contaminants like micro- and nanoplastics.
Environmental nano-particulates induced pre-implantation embryonic toxicity in pluripotent stem cell-derived blastoids
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Researchers used stem cell-derived blastoids as a model to study how nano-sized pollutants, including polystyrene nanoplastics and carbon black nanoparticles, affect early embryonic development. They found that both pollutants impaired the structure and cell specialization of the embryo models in a dose-dependent manner. The study provides a new high-throughput platform for assessing early developmental toxicity from environmental nanoparticle exposure.
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