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Environmental science and pollution research international
Sep, 2021;28 (35): 47921-47931.

Polystyrene microplastics induce blood-testis barrier disruption regulated by the MAPK-Nrf2 signaling pathway in rats.

Shengda Li, Qimeng Wang, Hui Yu, Long Yang, Yiqing Sun, Ning Xu, Nana Wang, Zhimin Lei, Junyu Hou, Yinchuan Jin, Hongqin Zhang, Lianqin Li, Feibo Xu, Lianshuang Zhang
Author Information
  1. Shengda Li: College of Clinical Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yan Tai, People's Republic of China.
  2. Qimeng Wang: College of Clinical Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yan Tai, People's Republic of China.
  3. Hui Yu: College of Basic Medicine & Xu Rongxiang Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, People's Republic of China.
  4. Long Yang: College of Clinical Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yan Tai, People's Republic of China.
  5. Yiqing Sun: College of Clinical Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yan Tai, People's Republic of China.
  6. Ning Xu: College of Clinical Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yan Tai, People's Republic of China.
  7. Nana Wang: College of Clinical Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yan Tai, People's Republic of China.
  8. Zhimin Lei: College of Clinical Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yan Tai, People's Republic of China.
  9. Junyu Hou: College of Clinical Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yan Tai, People's Republic of China.
  10. Yinchuan Jin: Department of Medical Psychology, Fourth Military Medical University, No. 169 West Changle Road, Xi'an, People's Republic of China. jin_yc@fmmu.edu.cn.
  11. Hongqin Zhang: College of Basic Medicine & Xu Rongxiang Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, People's Republic of China.
  12. Lianqin Li: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, China.
  13. Feibo Xu: College of Basic Medicine & Xu Rongxiang Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, People's Republic of China.
  14. Lianshuang Zhang: College of Basic Medicine & Xu Rongxiang Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, People's Republic of China. zls197600@126.com. ORCID
PMID: 33895957 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13911-9

Abstract

As a persistent pollutant, microplastics (MPs) have been reported to induce sperm quantity decrease in mice. However, the related mechanism remains obscure. Therefore, this study is intended to explore the effects of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) on male reproduction and its related mechanism of blood-testis barrier (BTB) impairment. Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats were divided randomly into four groups fed with PS-MPs for 90 days at doses of 0 mg/day (control group), 0.015 mg/day, 0.15 mg/day, and 1.5 mg/day, respectively. The present results have shown that PS-MP exposure led to the damage of seminiferous tubule, resulted in apoptosis of spermatogenic cells, and decreased the motility and concentration of sperm, while the abnormality of sperm was elevated. Meanwhile, PS-MPs could induce oxidative stress and activate the p38 MAPK pathway and thus deplete the nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2). Noteworthily, PS-MPs led to the BTB-related protein expression decrease. All these results demonstrated that PS-MP exposure may lead to the destruction of BTB integrity and the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells through the activation of the MAPK-Nrf2 pathway. The current study provided novelty evidence for elucidating the effects of PS-MPs on male reproductive toxicity and its potential mechanism.

Keywords

Blood–testis barrier Microplastics Nrf2 Oxidative stress Rats p38 MAPK signaling pathway

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Grants

  1. No. 81701301/The National Natural Science Foundation of China
  2. 2020JM-328/Nature Science Foundation from Shanxi Province
  3. No. S201910440051, S202010440090/Science and Technology Innovation plan for college students in Shandong Province

MeSH Term

Animals
Blood-Testis Barrier
Male
Mice
Microplastics
NF-E2-Related Factor 2
Plastics
Polystyrenes
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Signal Transduction

Chemicals

Microplastics
NF-E2-Related Factor 2
Plastics
Polystyrenes
Journal Article
Article has an altmetric score of 4

Word Cloud

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