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Exposure to polystyrene microplastics causes reproductive toxicity through oxidative stress and activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway

Xie, Xiaoman, Deng, Ting, Duan, Jiufei, Xie, Jing, Yuan, Junlin, Chen, Mingqing·2020·Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

Abstract

Microplastics (MP) are receiving increased attention as a harmful environmental pollutant, however information on the reproduction toxicity of MP in terrestrial animals, especially mammals, is limited. In this experiment, we investigated the impact of polystyrene microplastics (micro-PS) on the reproductive system of male mice. Healthy Balb/c mice were exposed to saline or to different doses of micro-PS for 6 weeks. The results showed that micro-PS exposure resulted in a significant decrease in the number and motility of sperm, and a significant increase in sperm deformity rate. We also detected a decrease in the activity of the sperm metabolism-related enzymes, succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and a decrease in the serum testosterone content in the micro-PS exposure group. We found that micro-PS exposure caused oxidative stress and activated JNK and p38 MAPK. In addition, we found that when N-acetylcysteine (NAC) scavenges ROS, and when the p38 MAPK-specific inhibitor SB203580 inhibits p38MAPK, the micro-PS-induced sperm damage is alleviated and testosterone secretion improves. In conclusion, our findings suggest that micro-PS induces reproductive toxicity in mice through oxidative stress and activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathways.

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Metadata

Authors
Xie, X., Deng, T., Duan, J., Xie, J., Yuan, J., & Chen, M.
Venue
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-03
Volume
190
Pages
110133
ISSN
0147-6513 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2997256683
Cited by
619
References
10
FWCI
11.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Exposure to polystyrene microplastics causes reproductive toxicity through oxidative stress and activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.110133
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Xie, X., Deng, T., Duan, J., Xie, J., Yuan, J., & Chen, M. (2020). Exposure to polystyrene microplastics causes reproductive toxicity through oxidative stress and activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.110133

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