Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on gene expression to nonspecific immune system in pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei).

This study found that high-density polyethylene microplastic particles in shrimp feed suppressed immune defense genes in Pacific white shrimp and caused intestinal and gill tissue damage at concentrations well below lethal levels. The findings suggest that microplastic exposure could compromise immune function and health in farmed crustaceans.

2022 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-Contaminated Feed Interferes with Antioxidant Enzyme and Lysozyme Gene Expression of Pacific White Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) Leading to Hepatopancreas Damage and Increased Mortality

Researchers fed Pacific white shrimp diets contaminated with high-density polyethylene microplastics and observed dose-dependent immune suppression and organ damage. The microplastics disrupted the expression of antioxidant enzyme and lysozyme genes and caused significant histopathological changes in the hepatopancreas. The study demonstrates that dietary microplastic exposure can compromise the immune defenses of commercially important crustaceans, potentially increasing their susceptibility to disease.

2022 Animals 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the immune and microbial response of the white-leg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei to microplastics

Researchers exposed white-leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) to different concentrations of microplastics for 48 hours and measured immune and microbial responses. The study found that high microplastic concentrations significantly reduced survival rates, altered immune-related gene expression, and disrupted the gut microbial community, suggesting that microplastic pollution may compromise shrimp immune function.

2021 Marine Environmental Research 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Use of Tandem Mass Spectrometry Quantitative Proteomics to Identify Potential Biomarkers to Follow the Effects of Cold and Frozen Storage of Muscle Tissue of Litopenaeus vannamei

Not directly relevant to microplastics — this study uses quantitative proteomics to identify protein biomarkers of quality deterioration in Pacific white shrimp muscle during cold and frozen storage.

2023 Foods 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on shrimp growth, physiology, antioxidant, immune responses and gut microbiota

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics affect shrimp health, covering impacts on growth, immune function, gut bacteria, and antioxidant defenses. Researchers found that plastic exposure can impair shrimp physiology through multiple pathways, with implications for both aquaculture productivity and seafood safety. The study highlights the need for more research on how plastic pollution in coastal waters threatens shrimp populations that are important for both ecosystems and human nutrition.

2025 Marine and Freshwater Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The stress-immunity axis in shellfish.

This review examines the stress-immunity relationship in shellfish, covering how environmental stressors — including chemical contaminants like microplastics — activate immune responses and affect shellfish health. Since shellfish are consumed by humans and accumulate microplastics from the water they filter, understanding how plastic pollution stresses these animals is important for seafood safety.

2021 Journal of invertebrate pathology
Article Tier 2

Potentiality of natural live food organisms in shrimp culture: A review

This paper is not about microplastics; it reviews the potential of live food organisms like microalgae as sustainable, nutrition-rich ingredients in shrimp aquaculture feed.

2023 Journal of Applied and Natural Science
Article Tier 2

Immunotoxicity and oxidative damage in Litopenaeus vannamei induced by polyethylene microplastics and copper co-exposure

Researchers found that when polyethylene microplastics carrying copper were injected into white shrimp, the combined exposure was significantly more harmful than either pollutant alone. The shrimp experienced suppressed immune function, increased oxidative stress, and severe damage to muscles, liver, and gills. Since shrimp are widely consumed seafood, these findings raise questions about how microplastic-bound metals in marine environments could affect both shellfish health and food safety.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Pollution in marine bivalves: The immunosuppressive effects of microplastics on Anadara granosa

Researchers exposed blood clams to polystyrene microplastics for one week and found that the plastics suppressed their immune system in a dose-dependent manner. Higher microplastic concentrations reduced the clams' immune cell counts, hemoglobin, and disease-fighting enzymes. Since blood clams are a commercially harvested seafood species, weakened immunity could increase disease outbreaks in clam populations and potentially affect the safety of shellfish consumed by humans.

2025 Marine Environmental Research 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on marine organisms

Researchers exposed Pacific white shrimp to polystyrene nanoplastics at various concentrations and measured immune, antioxidant, and tissue responses after seven days. They found that nanoplastic exposure disrupted immune function, increased oxidative stress, and caused tissue damage, particularly in the hepatopancreas and gills. The study adds to growing evidence that nanoplastics can harm the health of commercially important marine species.

2023 Environmental Technology & Innovation 32 citations
Article Tier 2

The Eco-Immunological Relevance of the Anti-Oxidant Response in Invasive Molluscs

Not relevant to microplastics — this review examines how antioxidant defence mechanisms in invasive mollusc species help them survive environmental stress and support immune function, with no focus on microplastic exposure.

2023 Antioxidants 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic toxicity in shrimp: From mechanistic pathways to ecological implications.

Researchers systematically reviewed 94 studies on microplastic toxicity in shrimp, mapping mechanistic pathways from particle characteristics to oxidative stress, immune dysfunction, neurotoxicity, and reproductive impairment across hepatopancreas, gills, gut, and gonad tissues, and identifying shrimp as effective bioindicators for aquatic microplastic risk assessment.

2026 Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Toxicology & pharmacology : CBP
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics and nanoplastics in shrimp: Mechanisms of plastic particle and contaminant distribution and subsequent effects after uptake

This review summarizes how microplastics and nanoplastics affect shrimp, which are an important food source for humans. The tiny plastic particles can carry harmful chemicals and pathogens into shrimp tissue, which then move up the food chain when people eat contaminated seafood. The findings highlight concerns about plastic pollution in aquaculture and its indirect effects on human health through the food we eat.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution Patterns and Human Exposure Risks of Microplastics in Dominant Wild Edible Shrimp: A Case Study of Haizhou Bay Marine Ranch

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in dominant wild shrimp species in Haizhou Bay, China, characterizing the types, sizes, and concentrations of MPs found in their bodies and assessing the human dietary exposure risks from consuming these economically important seafood species.

2025 Water
Article Tier 2

Oxidative effects of consuming microplastics in different tissues of white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

Researchers fed white shrimp diets containing polystyrene microplastics and found the particles accumulated in gills, muscles, and the hepatopancreas. The microplastics triggered oxidative stress, DNA damage, and lipid damage in multiple tissues, along with visible tissue abnormalities including edema and immune cell infiltration. The study demonstrates that dietary microplastic exposure can cause widespread oxidative harm across different organ systems in commercially important shellfish.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in decapod crustaceans: Accumulation, toxicity and impacts, a review

This review summarizes research on microplastic contamination in decapod crustaceans like shrimp, crabs, and lobsters, which are widely consumed as seafood. Studies have found microplastics accumulating in their gills, digestive organs, and gut, with experimental evidence showing oxidative stress, immune damage, and reproductive toxicity. The findings raise concerns about potential human exposure to microplastics through seafood consumption.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 162 citations
Article Tier 2

Involvement of Microplastics in the Conflict Between Host Immunity Defense and Viral Virulence: Promoting the Susceptibility of Shrimp to WSSV Infection

Researchers found that PVC microplastics made shrimp significantly more vulnerable to white spot syndrome virus, a devastating disease in aquaculture, by suppressing their immune defenses. The microplastics interacted with the virus to prolong its survival and triggered changes in the shrimp's fat metabolism that weakened a key immune signaling pathway. This study demonstrates how microplastic pollution in coastal waters could increase disease outbreaks in seafood species, potentially affecting both food supply and food safety for humans.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the Tiny Invaders: A deep dive into microplastics in shrimp – Occurrence, detection and unraveling the ripple effects

This review provides a deep dive into microplastic occurrence in shrimp, covering detection methods and potential ripple effects through the food chain. The study highlights that microplastics smaller than 5 mm are pervasive in marine aquaculture environments and accumulate in commercially important shellfish species consumed by humans.

2024 Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Physiological and transcriptomic analyses reveal critical immune responses to hypoxia and sulfide in the haemolymph of clam Tegillarca granosa

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it examines how hypoxia and sulfide exposure affect immune responses in blood clams (Tegillarca granosa) at a physiological and transcriptomic level.

2023 Frontiers in Marine Science 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of micro- and nanoplastics as food contaminants on the immune system

This review synthesized research on how microplastic and nanoplastic exposure affects immune system function, finding evidence across multiple studies that these particles can modulate immune responses and trigger inflammatory pathways in exposed organisms. The authors highlight immune disruption as an emerging health concern from micro- and nanoplastic contamination.

2023 Problems of Nutrition 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of polyethylene microplastics on oxidative stress and histopathology damages in Litopenaeus vannamei

Researchers injected fluorescent polyethylene microspheres into Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and found that microplastic exposure increased oxidative stress markers and caused histopathological damage to hepatopancreas and gill tissue, even at relatively low concentrations.

2021 Environmental Pollution 122 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics weaken the exoskeletal mechanical properties of Pacific whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

Researchers discovered that environmentally realistic levels of microplastics weakened the shells of whiteleg shrimp by disrupting the structure of chitin, the main building material in crustacean exoskeletons. The microplastics also embedded in the shell surface and altered key genes and metabolites involved in shell formation. Since shrimp is a widely consumed seafood, this finding raises questions about both the quality of farmed shrimp and the potential for microplastic transfer to human consumers.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Response to microplastic exposure: An exploration into the sea urchin immune cell proteome

Researchers exposed sea urchins to polystyrene microbeads at various concentrations and analyzed immune cell protein profiles using proteomics. The study found that microplastic exposure altered immune cell protein expression in a concentration-dependent manner, with higher concentrations leading to particle internalization in tissues and changes to proteins involved in metabolism and stress responses.

2023 Environmental Pollution 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Coping with synthetic and natural microparticles: brown shrimp and antioxidant defence

This doctoral research investigated how brown shrimp respond to both synthetic microplastics and natural organic microparticles, focusing on antioxidant defense mechanisms. The study aims to understand why some marine species appear more vulnerable to microplastic ingestion than others.

2020 Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung (Alfred-Wegener-Institut)