Toxicological effects of micro/nano-plastics on mouse/rat models: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Weijia Liu; Bowen Zhang; Qianqian Yao; Xihua Feng; Tianling Shen; Peisen Guo; Panpan Wang; Yitong Bai; Bo Li; Peixi Wang; Ruiling Li; Zhi Qu; Nan Liu

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1103289

Toxicological effects of micro/nano-plastics on mouse/rat models: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Front Public Health. 2023 May 18:11:1103289. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1103289. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Weijia Liu^{1

2}, Bowen Zhang¹, Qianqian Yao¹, Xihua Feng^{1

3}, Tianling Shen^{1

3}, Peisen Guo^{1

3}, Panpan Wang^{1

3}, Yitong Bai^{1

2}, Bo Li¹, Peixi Wang¹, Ruiling Li¹, Zhi Qu¹, Nan Liu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Environment and Health, South China Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
² Institute of Chronic Disease Risks Assessment, School of Nursing and Health, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
³ College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.

Abstract

Micro/nano-plastics (MNPs) are considered a heterogeneous class of environmental contaminants that cause multiple toxic effects on biological species. As the commonly used mammalian models to study the effects of MNPs with regard to their toxic effects, the mouse and rat models are making a great contribution to the disciplines of environmental toxicology and medical health. However, the toxic effects of MNPs have not been systematically summarized. Therefore, a systematic review and a meta-analysis of the toxic effects of MNPs on mouse/rat models were conducted. A total of seven main categories were established in this systematic review, and 24 subcategories were further divided according to the specific physiological significance of the endpoint or the classification of the physiological system, which covered all the selected pieces of literature. A total of 1,762 biological endpoints were found, and 52.78% of them were significantly affected. This fact indicates that there are relative factors, including the size, polymer type, concentration, and exposure time of MNPs and different sexes of mouse/rat models that could significantly affect the biological endpoints. These biological endpoints can be classified into various factors, such as the dose-response relationships between MNP concentration and physiological categories of the nervous system, growth, reproduction, digestive tract histopathology, and inflammatory cytokine level, among others. MNPs negatively affected the blood glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and reproductive function in mice. The reproductive function in male mice is more sensitive to the toxic effects of MNPs. These findings also provide insights into and directions for exploring the evidence and mechanisms of the toxic effects of MNPs on human health. It is clear that more research is required on the pathological mechanisms at the molecular level and the long-term effects of tissue accumulation.

Keywords: biological endpoints; environmental toxicology; health risk; micro/nano-plastics (MNPs); toxic effects.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Humans
Male
Mammals
Mice
Microplastics* / analysis
Plastics*
Rats

Substances

Plastics
Microplastics

Grants and funding

The present study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81872584), the National Natural Science Foundation of Shenzhen (No. JCYJ20210324093211030), the Medical Scientific Research Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. A2020490), the Military Logistics Research Project (No. CKJ20J031), the Key R&D and Promotion Projects of Henan Province (No. 222102310587 and No. 232102310502), and the Interdisciplinary Research for First-class Discipline Construction Project of Henan University (No. 2019YLXKJC04).