Lipid-Rich diet protects aquatic vertebrates by reducing polystyrene nanoparticles deposition and alleviating harmful effects from exposure

Nanoplastics (NPs), formed by the disintegration of larger plastic particles, are one of the most widespread pollutants and impose significant environmental threats. While the physiological effects of NP exposure have been extensively analyzed, how the metabolism of an affected individual modulates the manifestation of deleterious effects of NP exposure has not been comprehensively analyzed. In this report, we showed that NPs are selectively deposited within a small segment of the alimentary canal and lead to alteration of the transcriptomic landscape using the zebrafish model. In particular, genes associated with immune responses and lipid metabolism were significantly changed upon NP exposure. Importantly, lipid-rich diets significantly reduced the intestinal NP accumulation and partially restored global transcriptomic profiles altered by NP exposure. Lipid-rich diets also ameliorated NP-induced immune activation. Therefore, our data imply a previously underappreciated correlation between dietary composition and NP deposition, highlighting manipulating dietary composition as a potential strategy to mitigate the biological impacts on NP pollution in aquatic organisms. Our data suggest that optimizing dietary lipid content may help reduce the risk associated with long-term exposure to NPs.