Polystyrene nanoplastics at predicted environmental concentrations enhance the toxicity of copper on Caenorhabditis elegans.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf
; 282: 116749, 2024 Sep 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39024942
ABSTRACT
Excessive nanoplastics not only pose a direct threat to the environment but also have the propensity to adsorb and interact with other pollutants, exacerbating their impact. The coexistence of nanoplastics and heavy metals in soils is a prevalent phenomenon. However, limited research existed about the joint effects of the two contaminants on soil organisms. In this paper, we ascertained the combined toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and copper (Cu2+) on soil organisms (Caenorhabditis elegans) at quantities that were present in the environment, further exploring whether the two toxicants were synergistic or antagonistic. The outcomes manifested that single exposure to low-dose PS-NPs (1⯵g/L) would not cause significant damage to nematodes. After treatment with PS-NPs and Cu2+, the locomotion ability of nematode was impaired, accompanied by an elevation in reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and a biphasic response in antioxidant enzyme activity. Moreover, combined exposure to PS-NPs and Cu2+ induced the mRNA up-regulation of vit-6, cyp-35a2, hsp-16.2, age-1, and cep-1, both of which were stress-related genes. The comparative analysis between groups (with or without PS-NPs) revealed that the combined exposure group resulted in significantly greater toxic effects on nematodes compared with Cu2+ exposure alone. Furthermore, the addition of PS-NPs influenced the metabolic profiles of Caenorhabditis elegans under Cu2+ stress, with numerous differential metabolites associated with oxidative damage or defense mechanism. Overall, these findings manifested that PS-NPs at the expected environmental concentration elevated Cu2+ toxicity on nematodes.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Polystyrenes
/
Soil Pollutants
/
Reactive Oxygen Species
/
Caenorhabditis elegans
/
Copper
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf
/
Ecotoxicol. environ. saf
/
Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Year:
2024
Type:
Article