Nanoplastics – Potential Health Risks of Ingested Polystyrene in Drosophila Larvae Studied

The abstract of a May 1, 2022 Environmental Science: Nano article https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/EN/D1EN01199E by researchers with Spain Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Egypt Sohag University reports that “… we have used our in vivo model of Drosophila larvae and three nanopolystyrene plastics (PSNPLs) … to add new data to better understand the potential health risks of Micro- and Nanoplastics (MNPLs). Our model has permitted us to visualize … the journey of the PSNPLs administered via ingestion, their interaction with gut lumen components … their uptake by gut enterocytes, their translocation through the intestinal barrier to the hemolymph, and their uptake by hemocytes … Although no relevant toxicity … was observed, exposure induced a wide molecular response altering the expression of genes involved in the general stress response, in the antioxidant response and even in the genotoxicity response, as well as in genes related to the intestinal damage response. Furthermore, a general induction of ROS production and DNA damage was also detected …” #MicroPlastics #NanoPlastics #PlasticWaste #SingleUsePlastic