Micro- and nanoplastics: Emerging environmental threats to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

IF 3.4 4区医学 Q2 REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Reproductive toxicology Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-04 DOI:10.1016/j.reprotox.2025.109098

Lauren Rae Gladwell, Jhanvi Karthik, Laura Packer, Sunil Venkategowda, Mahua Choudhury

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Environmental exposure to micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) can have significant impacts on the development of chronic health conditions in children and adults. MNPs are byproducts generated from the ubiquitous and daily use of plastics. A growing body of literature points to MNPs’ affecting human metabolic and reproductive health, yet research into their potential impacts is still in its infancy. Due to recent evidence demonstrating accumulation of MNPs within human metabolic and reproductive tissues, their potential for inducing physiological and epigenetic dysregulations is postulated. This is especially critical for future generations as epigenetic disturbances within individuals can be inherited. Currently, the mechanisms for how MNPs exert their effects are still under investigation. In this scenario, the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) offers insight on the influence of environmental exposures in the periconceptual, fetal, and early phases of life towards the development of noncommunicable diseases later in life. DOHaD investigates these interactions through an epigenetic lens as epigenetics bridges environmental exposures and changes in gene expression outside of the DNA sequence itself. In this review, we provide an overview on current research that describes MNPs’ contribution towards the development of metabolic and reproductive dysfunction as well as their potential to impact future generations through the DOHaD paradigm possibly mediated by epigenetic modifications.

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微塑料和纳米塑料：对健康和疾病发展起源的新兴环境威胁。

环境暴露于微塑料和纳米塑料（MNPs）可对儿童和成人慢性健康状况的发展产生重大影响。MNPs是无处不在的日常使用塑料产生的副产品。越来越多的文献指出MNPs影响人类代谢和生殖健康，但对其潜在影响的研究仍处于起步阶段。由于最近有证据表明MNPs在人体代谢和生殖组织中积累，因此假设它们具有诱导生理和表观遗传失调的潜力。这对后代尤其重要，因为个体内的表观遗传干扰是可以遗传的。目前，MNPs如何发挥其作用的机制仍在研究中。在这种情况下，健康和疾病的发育起源（DOHaD）提供了关于围孕期、胎儿和生命早期阶段的环境暴露对生命后期非传染性疾病发展的影响的见解。DOHaD通过表观遗传学的视角来研究这些相互作用，因为表观遗传学将环境暴露和DNA序列外基因表达的变化联系起来。在这篇综述中，我们概述了目前的研究，描述了MNPs对代谢和生殖功能障碍的发展的贡献，以及它们通过可能由表观遗传修饰介导的DOHaD范式影响后代的潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Reproductive toxicology 生物-毒理学

CiteScore

6.50

自引率

3.00%

发文量

131

审稿时长

45 days

期刊介绍： Drawing from a large number of disciplines, Reproductive Toxicology publishes timely, original research on the influence of chemical and physical agents on reproduction. Written by and for obstetricians, pediatricians, embryologists, teratologists, geneticists, toxicologists, andrologists, and others interested in detecting potential reproductive hazards, the journal is a forum for communication among researchers and practitioners. Articles focus on the application of in vitro, animal and clinical research to the practice of clinical medicine. All aspects of reproduction are within the scope of Reproductive Toxicology, including the formation and maturation of male and female gametes, sexual function, the events surrounding the fusion of gametes and the development of the fertilized ovum, nourishment and transport of the conceptus within the genital tract, implantation, embryogenesis, intrauterine growth, placentation and placental function, parturition, lactation and neonatal survival. Adverse reproductive effects in males will be considered as significant as adverse effects occurring in females. To provide a balanced presentation of approaches, equal emphasis will be given to clinical and animal or in vitro work. Typical end points that will be studied by contributors include infertility, sexual dysfunction, spontaneous abortion, malformations, abnormal histogenesis, stillbirth, intrauterine growth retardation, prematurity, behavioral abnormalities, and perinatal mortality.