ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mol. Neurosci.

Sec. Brain Disease Mechanisms

Volume 18 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2025.1563086

This article is part of the Research TopicEffects of Environmental Perturbations on Brain Functions, Diseases, and DisordersView all articles

Exposure to a nanoplastic-enriched diet for fourteen days increases microglial immunoreactivity in the zebrafish telencephalon 6106 Words; 5 Figures

Provisionally accepted
Robert  Alan MansRobert Alan Mans1*Hannah  KelehearHannah Kelehear1Sarah  RotschaferSarah Rotschafer2Clare  GanasClare Ganas1Brendan  Uche- MoonBrendan Uche- Moon1Gabrielle  CallGabrielle Call1Callie  MauersbergCallie Mauersberg1Justin  TollerJustin Toller1Andy  DiamondurosAndy Diamonduros1
  • 1Department of Biology, College of Science and Mathematics, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, United States
  • 2Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Mercer University, Savannah, Georgia, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Microscopic plastic particles (micro-and nanoplastics) are an emerging environmental contaminant detected in air, soil, water, and human food supplies. Experiments using zebrafish have shown that polystyrene nanoplastics will infiltrate numerous organ systems after ingestion, including the brain, liver, muscle, and reproductive organs. Additionally, work in rodent models and cell culture have demonstrated that nanoplastics can induce inflammatory responses by microglia and alter astrocyte function. However, the responses of microglia and astrocytes in the zebrafish brain caused by daily exposures to nanoplastics have not been tested previously. In the current study, adult zebrafish were exposed to a nanoplastic-enriched diet consisting of Artemia brine shrimp containing 44 nm polystyrene spheres, and reactive gliosis by microglia and astrocytes was examined. Microglial 4C4-immunoreactive protein was elevated in the brains of zebrafish exposed to the nanoplastic-enriched diet. Levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were not affected by plastic exposure. It was determined that microglial, but not astrocytic, markers were elevated in the zebrafish brain after 14-days of exposure to a nanopolystyrene-enriched diet. These findings contribute to our understanding of how a pervasive environmental contaminant, nanoplastics, may impair brain health, especially during the initial stages of nanoplastic exposure. Additionally, this is the first study using zebrafish to evaluate glial activation in the context of nanoplastic-contaminated foods.

Keywords: nanoplastics, Astrocytes, Gliosis, Zebrafish, Microglia, Neuroinflammation, 4C4, GFAP

Received: 19 Jan 2025; Accepted: 23 Apr 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Mans, Kelehear, Rotschafer, Ganas, Uche- Moon, Call, Mauersberg, Toller and Diamonduros. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Robert Alan Mans, Department of Biology, College of Science and Mathematics, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, 30458, Georgia, United States

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