Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis reveals the underlying mechanisms for male reproductive toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in mouse spermatocyte-derived GC-2spd(ts) cells

Background

Polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs), are ubiquitous pollution sources in human environments, posing significant biosafety and health risks. While recent studies, including our own, have illustrated that PS-NPs can breach the blood-testis barrier and impact germ cells, there remains a gap in understanding their effects on specific spermatogenic cells such as spermatocytes.

Methods and results

Herein, we employed an integrated approach encompassing phenotype, metabolomics, and transcriptomics analyses to assess the molecular impact of PS-NPs on mouse spermatocyte-derived GC-2spd(ts) cells. Optimal exposure conditions were determined as 24 h with 50 nm PS-NPs at 12.5 μg/mL and 90 nm PS-NPs at 50 μg/mL for subsequent multi-omics analysis. Our findings revealed that PS-NPs significantly influenced proliferation and viability, causing alterations in transcriptome and metabolome profiles. Transcriptomics analysis of GC-2spd(ts) cells exposed to PS-NPs indicated the pivotal involvement of cell proliferation and cycle, autophagy, ferroptosis, and redox reaction pathways in PS-NP-induced effects on the proliferation and viability of GC-2spd(ts) cells. Furthermore, metabolomics analysis identified major changes in amino acid metabolism, cyanoamino acid metabolism, and purine and pyrimidine metabolism following PS-NP exposure.

Conclusion

Our integrated approach, combining metabolomics and transcriptomics profiles with phenotype data, enhances our understanding of the adverse effects of PS-NPs on germ cells.