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Polystyrene Nanoplastics induced placental toxicology by activating Keap1-mediated ferroptosis via METTL3-dependent m6A methylation
Summary
Scientists found that tiny plastic particles called nanoplastics can damage the placenta during pregnancy by triggering a harmful process called ferroptosis, which kills cells through iron buildup. The study used lab cells and pregnant mice to show how these plastic particles disrupt the body's natural protective systems in placental tissue. This research helps explain why microplastics in our environment might pose risks during pregnancy, though more studies are needed to understand the full impact on human health.
Polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) exposure can induce placental toxicity, but the molecular mechanism of PS-NP-induced placental toxicity is poorly understood. We selected PS-NPs (80 nm) as a model of plastic particles and treated the human trophoblast cell line JEG3 (6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 mg/L) and pregnant mice with PS-NPs (15, 30 and 60 mg/kg·bw). These results found that PS-NPs regulated key ferroptosis-associated proteins (GPX4, ACSL4, and FTH1), indicating that PS-NPs induced ferroptosis. Here, we show for the first time that PS-NPs trigger placental ferroptosis by disrupting the p62-Keap1 interaction, thereby blocking Nrf2 degradation. Although m6A modification of the p62-Keap1-Nrf2 axis has been described in other models, its involvement in nanoplastic-induced placental injury remains unexplored. Here, we showed that PS-NPs induce ferroptosis by promoting METTL3 expression in JEG cells and placental tissues. Furthermore, knockdown of METTL3 inhibited PS-NP-induced ferroptosis by regulating Keap1 m6A, which inhibited the p62-Keap1-Nrf2 pathway in vitro. PS-NP-induced ferroptosis was attenuated by METTL3 knockdown via the inhibition of Keap1 m6A, which regulates the p62-Keap1-Nrf2 pathway. Collectively, these findings indicate thatMETTL3-mediated m6A methylation induced by PS-NPs may represent a previously unrecognized molecular basis for placental injury.