Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanoplastic-mediated gut dysbiosis and its impact on cardiac and neuroimmune function in zebrafish model: A multi-omics approach

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastic exposure disrupts gut microbiome balance and its downstream effects on cardiac and neuroimmune function, primarily using zebrafish as a model. The study suggests that chronic exposure alters gut barrier integrity and microbial composition, triggering systemic consequences including neurotoxicity and cardiotoxicity, with findings showing translational relevance to human health outcomes.

2026 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Interactions between intestinal microbiota and metabolites in zebrafish larvae exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics: Implications for intestinal health and glycolipid metabolism

Zebrafish larvae exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics suffered intestinal damage, including inflammation, oxidative stress, and disrupted gut bacteria -- with increases in bacteria linked to gut disease. The nanoplastics also altered metabolism related to sugar and fat processing, suggesting that ingesting these tiny particles could harm digestive health and disrupt how the body processes nutrients.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics in the Liver and Intestine of Normal and High-Fat-Diet Juvenile Zebrafish

Researchers exposed juvenile zebrafish to polystyrene nanoplastics combined with a high-fat diet and found that the combination caused gastrointestinal injury and disrupted lipid metabolism. The nanoplastics alone perturbed gut microbiota stability, and the effects were amplified when paired with a high-fat diet. The study suggests that dietary factors may influence the severity of nanoplastic toxicity, highlighting the importance of considering real-world exposure scenarios.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano‐plastics disrupt systemic metabolism by remodeling the bile acid–microbiota axis and driving hepatic–intestinal dysfunction

Mice were exposed to polyethylene terephthalate nanoparticles, and researchers used histopathology, metabolomics, and metagenomics to track downstream effects. Nanoplastic ingestion caused severe metabolic disruption—including weight loss, organ atrophy, and liver-intestinal dysfunction—by remodeling the bile acid–gut microbiota axis.

2025 iMeta
Article Tier 2

Integrated multi-omics of gut-liver axis to dissect the mechanism underlying hepatotoxicity induced by sub-chronic tire wear particles exposure in mice

Researchers gavaged female mice with tire wear particles (a major microplastic source) at three doses and performed integrated gut-liver multi-omics analysis, finding that sub-chronic exposure disrupted lipid metabolism, promoted liver inflammation, and altered gut microbial communities in a dose-dependent manner.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

Dysregulation of gut health in zebrafish by differentially charged nanoplastic exposure: an integrated analysis of histopathology, immunology, and microbial informatics

Researchers studied how nanoplastics with different surface charges affect gut health in zebrafish using histopathology, immunology, and microbial analysis. The study found that gut damage and microflora disturbance caused by nanoplastic ingestion significantly depended on the surface functional groups of the particles.

2023 Environmental Science Nano 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics induce intestinal inflammation, oxidative stress, and disorders of metabolome and microbiome in zebrafish

Researchers exposed zebrafish to polystyrene microplastics for 21 days and found significant intestinal inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of both the gut microbiome and metabolic processes. The microplastics altered the balance of beneficial and harmful gut bacteria and changed the levels of key metabolites involved in energy and amino acid metabolism. The study provides detailed evidence that microplastic ingestion can cause widespread disruption to gut health in aquatic organisms.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 898 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic contamination: Impact on zebrafish liver metabolism and implications for aquatic environmental health

Zebrafish exposed to polystyrene nanoparticles for 28 days showed significant disruptions in liver metabolism, including altered fat processing, signs of inflammation, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. Notably, at lower doses the liver's detox enzymes appeared to break down the nanoplastics themselves, while higher doses overwhelmed these defenses and caused more severe injury.

2024 Environment International 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Transgenerational effects of Nanoplastics and bisphenol A on Zebrafish lipid metabolism: Disruption of the gut Microbiota-liver axis via mTOR pathway

Researchers exposed zebrafish to nanoplastics and bisphenol A, a chemical commonly found in plastics, and tracked the effects across three generations. They found that the combined exposure disrupted fat metabolism, damaged gut bacteria and liver function in the first generation, and these metabolic problems were passed down to offspring that were never directly exposed. The study suggests that nanoplastic and chemical co-exposure may cause health effects that persist across multiple generations.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Size-dependent ecotoxicological impacts of tire wear particles on zebrafish physiology and gut microbiota: Implications for aquatic ecosystem health

Researchers found that tire wear particles, a major but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution, affect zebrafish health differently depending on particle size. Smaller particles caused more severe gut microbiome disruption, oxidative stress, and immune responses, suggesting that tire-derived microplastics in waterways may pose a greater health risk to aquatic life than previously recognized.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Acute exposure to microplastics induces metabolic disturbances and gut dysbiosis in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Researchers exposed adult zebrafish to polyethylene and polyester microplastics and used untargeted metabolomics and gut microbiome analysis to assess the effects. The study found that acute microplastic exposure caused significant metabolic disturbances and gut dysbiosis, altering key metabolites involved in lipid and amino acid metabolism.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on liver health: Current understanding and future research directions

This review summarizes what scientists know about how micro- and nanoplastics affect the liver, which is one of the first organs exposed because it processes everything absorbed from the gut. The particles trigger oxidative stress, disrupt energy metabolism, cause cell death, and promote inflammation, and may contribute to conditions like fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis. The paper also highlights how plastics can disturb the gut microbiome, which communicates with the liver through the gut-liver axis and may amplify liver damage.

2024 World Journal of Gastroenterology 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of polystyrene nanoplastics on zebrafish gut microbiota and mechanistic insights

Zebrafish exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics showed significant changes in their gut bacteria, with beneficial species like Bifidobacterium declining and potentially harmful bacteria increasing. The nanoplastics physically entered intestinal tissues, causing visible damage to gut cells. This study is relevant to human health because our gut microbiome plays a key role in immunity and digestion, and similar disruption from nanoplastic exposure could contribute to digestive and immune problems.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi-omics association pattern between gut microbiota and host metabolism of a filter-feeding fish in situ exposed to microplastics

Scientists exposed filter-feeding fish to environmentally realistic levels of microplastics and found that the particles reshaped gut bacteria communities, which in turn altered the fish's liver metabolism through changes in amino acid processing. This gut-microbiome-to-organ connection matters because it shows microplastics may affect human health not just through direct toxicity but by disrupting the beneficial bacteria in our digestive systems.

2025 Environment International 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut dysbiosis exacerbates inflammatory liver injury induced by environmentally relevant concentrations of nanoplastics via the gut-liver axis

This mouse study found that swallowing nanoplastics at levels found in the environment disrupted gut bacteria and damaged the intestinal barrier, allowing toxins to leak into the bloodstream and cause liver inflammation. When researchers transplanted gut bacteria from nanoplastic-exposed mice into healthy mice, those mice also developed liver damage. This demonstrates that nanoplastics may harm the liver indirectly by first disrupting the gut, a finding relevant to understanding how everyday plastic exposure could affect human health.

2024 Journal of Environmental Sciences 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-exposure to microplastics and tire particles exacerbates oxidative stress and gut microbiome dysbiosis in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Researchers exposed zebrafish for 21 days to environmentally relevant mixtures of microplastics and tire particles and found that combined exposure caused more severe oxidative stress and gut microbiome disruption than either pollutant alone. Particle accumulation occurred mainly in the gut with secondary deposition in the liver, and the most pronounced tissue damage was observed under the highest combined exposure. Gut microbiota analysis revealed significant shifts in community structure, including reduced beneficial bacteria and increased pollutant-tolerant species.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Combined toxicity of nanoplastics and sodium fluoride to zebrafish liver: Impact on gut-liver axis homeostasis and lipid metabolism

Researchers used zebrafish to evaluate the combined toxicity of nanoplastics and sodium fluoride on the gut-liver axis, finding that combined exposure at environmental concentrations disrupted lipid metabolism and gut microbiome homeostasis more than either pollutant alone. The results raise concerns about the co-exposure risks of these two widespread contaminants.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Aged polystyrene microplastics exacerbate cadmium-induced hepatotoxicity in zebrafish through gut-liver axis metabolic dysregulation

Researchers exposed zebrafish to polystyrene microplastics and cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, and found that weathered (aged) microplastics absorbed more cadmium and caused worse liver damage — disrupting the gut barrier, altering gut bacteria, and triggering fat buildup in the liver — compared to either pollutant alone.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 8 citations
Review Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs): A Review on metabolic disruptions and potential obesogenic implications using -omics approaches based evidences on zebrafish model

This review summarizes growing evidence that polystyrene microplastics can disrupt fat and energy metabolism in zebrafish, potentially contributing to obesity-like effects. The microplastics altered lipid processing, energy balance, and gut bacteria composition through multiple biological pathways. These findings are relevant to human health because they suggest microplastics could be an overlooked factor in the global rise of obesity and metabolic disorders.

2025 Environmental Research 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Dysbiosis of gut microbiota in C57BL/6-Lepem1hwl/Korl mice during microplastics-caused hepatic metabolism disruption

Researchers administered polypropylene microplastics orally to obese mice for 9 weeks and found disruption of hepatic lipid, glucose, and amino acid metabolism alongside structural changes in gut microbiota, with microplastic-treated mice showing decreased hepatic lipid accumulation and altered abundance of specific bacterial genera.

2025 PLoS ONE 2 citations
Article Tier 2

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

Researchers showed in zebrafish that polystyrene nanoplastics accumulate selectively in a narrow intestinal segment and alter immune and lipid metabolism gene expression, and that a lipid-rich diet significantly reduced intestinal nanoplastic deposition and partially restored normal transcriptomic profiles.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Effects of frying on microplastics load in fish and implications on health

Researchers investigated the effects of polyethylene microplastics on gut microbiota composition in mice fed a high-fat diet, finding that microplastic exposure altered microbial diversity and increased gut permeability. Co-exposure with a high-fat diet amplified metabolic disruption.

2022 Food Frontiers 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Differential effects of foodborne and waterborne micro(nano)plastics exposure on fish liver metabolism and gut microbiota community.

Nile tilapia exposed to equivalent doses of micro(nano)plastics via food versus water showed distinct liver gene expression profiles, indicating that exposure route critically shapes the metabolic and toxicological response. Foodborne MNP exposure produced more pronounced effects on lipid metabolism and inflammation pathways.

2025 Journal of hazardous materials
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastic exposure modulates gut microbiota and gut-liver axis in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

Researchers fed gilthead seabream diets containing polystyrene microplastics and found that the particles disrupted the communication between the gut and liver, known as the gut-liver axis. The microplastics altered gut bacteria composition, increased liver inflammation markers, and changed bile acid metabolism. The study highlights how microplastic ingestion can trigger a chain of interconnected effects across multiple organ systems in fish.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 6 citations