International Journal of Environmental Health Engineering (IJEHE)

Acute toxic effects of polyurethane microplastics on adult Zebra fish (Danio rerio)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health; Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

2 Department of Pathology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

3 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health; Environment Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Aim: Microplastics (MPs) have become an emerging environmental contaminant and there are increasing concerns about potentially toxic effects on living organisms. This study is aimed to determine uptake, tissue accumulation, and toxic effects of polyurethane microplastics (PUR-MPs) on zebra fish. Materials and Methods: The zebra fish were exposed to different concentrations of PURs-MPs of different sizes for 10 days. Mortality and behavioral changes were monitored. Ingestion and tissue accumulation of PUR-MPs were studied by fluorescent tagging of PUR-MPs. Pathological damages of tissues were investigated with hematoxylin-eosin staining. Results: Microsize PUR-MPs can be ingested by zebra fish and fluorescent-tagged PUR-MPs were found in gills and gastrointestinal (GI) tract of fish after 10 days of exposure. A significant negative correlation was found between fluorescence intensity in fish tissues and size of PUR-MPs. Gills, GI tract, and liver were the most affected tissues by PUR-MP toxicity. GI damages included epithelial detachment, thinning of the bowel wall, congestive inflammation, epithelial damage, and lesions of villi in the gastric wall. Necrosis, adhesion, and partial fusion of secondary lamellae were the dominant pathological damages in the gills. Liver also was affected by cellular necrosis, infiltration, and lipid droplets. Conclusion: Exposure of zebra fish to PUR-MPs leads to ingestion of these particles by fish and significant increase in fish mortality and tissue damages. Particle size and MP concentration were the key determinant factors in PUR-MP toxicity. The results of the present study provide novel insights into environmental toxicity of PUR-MPs and toxic effect of PUR-MPs in aquatic organisms.

Keywords

1. Rochman CM, Brookson C, Bikker J, Djuric N, Earn A, Bucci K, et al. Rethinking microplastics as a diverse contaminant suite. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:703-11.
2. Zhang Y, Kang S, Allen S, Allen D, Gao T, Sillanpää M. Atmospheric microplastics: A review on current status and perspectives. Earth-Sci Rev 2020;203:10311832.
3. Zeng EY. Microplastic Contamination in Aquatic Environments: An Emerging Matter of Environmental Urgency. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier; 2018. 
4. Worm B, Lotze HK, Jubinville I, Wilcox C, Jambeck J. Plastic as a persistent marine pollutant. Ann Rev Environ Resour 2017;42:1-26.
5. Botterell ZL, Beaumont N, Dorrington T, Steinke M, Thompson RC, Lindeque PK. Bioavailability and effects of microplastics on marine zooplankton: A review. Environ Pollut 2019;245:98-110.
6. Bank MS, Hansson SV. The plastic cycle: A novel and holistic paradigm for the anthropocene. Environ Sci Technol 2019;53:7177-9. 
7. Hüffer T, Hofmann T. Sorption of non-polar organic compounds by micro-sized plastic particles in aqueous solution. Environ Pollut 2016;214:194-201. 
8. Hirai H, Takada H, Ogata Y, Yamashita R, Mizukawa K, Saha M, et al. Organic micropollutants in marine plastics debris from the open ocean and remote and urban beaches. Mar Pollut Bull 2011;62:1683-92. 
9. Besseling E, Foekema EM, Van Franeker JA, Leopold MF, Kühn S, Bravo Rebolledo EL, et al. Microplastic in a macro filter feeder: Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae. Mar Pollut Bull 2015;95:248-52.
10. Lusher AL, Hernandez-Milian G, O'Brien J, Berrow S, O'Connor I, Officer R. Microplastic and macroplastic ingestion by a deep diving, oceanic cetacean: The True's beaked whale Mesoplodon mirus. Environ Pollut 2015;199:185-91.
11. Amélineau F, Bonnet D, Heitz O, Mortreux V, Harding AM, Karnovsky N, et al. Microplastic pollution in the Greenland sea: Background levels and selective contamination of planktivorous diving seabirds. Environ Pollut 2016;219:1131-9.
12. Browne MA, Dissanayake A, Galloway TS, Lowe DM, Thompson RC. Ingested microscopic plastic translocates to the circulatory system of the mussel, Mytilus edulis (L). Environ Sci Technol 2008;42:5026-31.
13. Graham ER, Thompson JT. Deposit-and suspension-feeding sea cucumbers (Echinodermata) ingest plastic fragments. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 2009;368:22-9.
14. Sun X, Li Q, Zhu M, Liang J, Zheng S, Zhao Y. Ingestion of microplastics by natural zooplankton groups in the northern South China sea. Mar Pollut Bull 2017;115:217-24.
15. Hall N, Berry K, Rintoul L, Hoogenboom M. Microplastic ingestion by scleractinian corals. Mar Biol 2015;162:725-32.
16. Gall SC, Thompson RC. The impact of debris on marine life. Mar Pollut Bull 2015;92:170-9.
17. Cole M, Lindeque P, Fileman E, Halsband C, Galloway TS. The impact of polystyrene microplastics on feeding, function and fecundity in the marine copepod Calanus helgolandicus. Environ Sci Technol 2015;49:1130-7. 
18. de Sá LC, Oliveira M, Ribeiro F, Rocha TL, Futter MN. Studies of the effects of microplastics on aquatic organisms: What do we know and where should we focus our efforts in the future? Sci Total Environ 2018;645:1029-39.
19. Gatidou G, Arvaniti OS, Stasinakis AS. Review on the occurrence and fate of microplastics in Sewage Treatment Plants. J Hazard Mater 2019;367:504-12.
20. Rochman CM. The complex mixture, fate and toxicity of chemicals associated with plastic debris in the marine environment. In: Marine Anthropogenic Litter. Cham: Springer; 2015. p. 117-40.
21. Hamlin HJ, Marciano K, Downs CA. Migration of nonylphenol from food-grade plastic is toxic to the coral reef fish species Pseudochromis fridmani. Chemosphere 2015;139:223-8.
22. Kramm J, Völker C, Wagner M. Superficial or Substantial: Why Care About Microplastics in the Anthropocene. Environmental Science & Technology 2018; 52: 3336-37.
23. Gama NV, Ferreira A, Barros-Timmons A. Polyurethane foams: Past, present, and future. Materials (Basel) 2018;11:E1841.
24. McKenna ST, Hull TR. The fire toxicity of polyurethane foams. Fire Sci Rev 2016;5:3.
25. Lithner D, Larsson A, Dave G. Environmental and health hazard ranking and assessment of plastic polymers based on chemical composition. Sci Total Environ 2011;409:3309-24.
26. Karami A, Groman DB, Wilson SP, Ismail P, Neela VK. Biomarker responses in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae exposed to pristine low-density polyethylene fragments. Environ Pollut 2017;223:466-75.
27. Lu Y, Zhang Y, Deng Y, Jiang W, Zhao Y, Geng J, et al. Uptake and accumulation of polystyrene microplastics in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and toxic effects in liver. Environ Sci Technol 2016;50:4054-60.
28. Lei L, Wu S, Lu S, Liu M, Song Y, Fu Z, et al. Microplastic particles cause intestinal damage and other adverse effects in zebrafish Danio rerio and nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Sci Total Environ 2018;619-620:1-8. 
29. Meyers JR. Zebrafish: Development of a vertebrate model organism. Curr Protoc Essent Lab Tech 2018;16:e19. 
30. Hwang J, Choi D, Han S, Choi J, Hong J. An assessment of the toxicity of polypropylene microplastics in human derived cells. Sci Total Environ 2019;684:657-69.
31. Chen Q, Yin D, Jia Y, Schiwy S, Legradi J, Yang S, et al. Enhanced uptake of BPA in the presence of nanoplastics can lead to neurotoxic effects in adult zebrafish. Sci Total Environ 2017;609:1312-21.
32. Jin Y, Xia J, Pan Z, Yang J, Wang W, Fu Z. Polystyrene microplastics induce microbiota dysbiosis and inflammation in the gut of adult zebrafish. Environ Pollut 2018;235:322-9.
33. Maes T, Jessop R, Wellner N, Haupt K, Mayes AG. A rapid-screening approach to detect and quantify microplastics based on fluorescent tagging with Nile Red. Sci Rep 2017;7:44501. Back to cited text no. 33 34. Shim WJ, Song YK, Hong SH, Jang M. Identification and quantification of microplastics using Nile Red staining. Mar Pollut Bull 2016;113:469-76.
34 35. Kefford BJ, King CK, Wasley J, Riddle MJ, Nugegoda D. Sensitivity of a large and representative sample of antarctic marine invertebrates to metals. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:1560-8.
36. Zodrow JM, Stegeman JJ, Tanguay RL. Histological analysis of acute toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in zebrafish. Aquat Toxicol 2004;66:25-38. Back to cited text no. 36 37. Mak CW, Ching-Fong Yeung K, Chan KM. Acute toxic effects of polyethylene microplastic on adult zebrafish. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2019;182:109442.
38. Savio LE, Vuaden FC, Piato AL, Bonan CD, Wyse AT. Behavioral changes induced by long-term proline exposure are reversed by antipsychotics in zebrafish. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2012;36:258-63.
39. Houlihan D, Boujard T, Jobling M. Food Intake in Fish. USA:John Wiley and Sons; 2008. 
40. Lorenz C, Roscher L, Meyer MS, Hildebrandt L, Prume J, Löder MG, et al. Spatial distribution of microplastics in sediments and surface waters of the southern North sea. Environ Pollut 2019;252:1719-29.
41. Jabeen K, Li B, Chen Q, Su L, Wu C, Hollert H, et al. Effects of virgin microplastics on goldfish (Carassius auratus). Chemosphere 2018;213:323-32.
42. Qiao R, Sheng C, Lu Y, Zhang Y, Ren H, Lemos B. Microplastics induce intestinal inflammation, oxidative stress, and disorders of metabolome and microbiome in zebrafish. Sci Total Environ 2019;662:246-53.
43. Erkmen B, Karasu Benli AÇ, Ağuş HH, Yıldırım Z, Mert R, Erkoç F. Impact of sublethal di-n-butyl phthalate on the aquaculture fish species Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): Histopathology and oxidative stress assessment. Aquac Res 2017;48:675-85. 
44. Stewart A, Wong K, Cachat J, Gaikwad S, Kyzar E, Wu N, et al. Zebrafish models to study drug abuse-related phenotypes. Rev Neurosci 2011;22:95-105. Back to cited text no. 44
International Journal of Environmental Health Engineering (IJEHE)
Volume 2021, September
September 2021
Pages 1-8
  • Receive Date: 17 June 2021
  • Revise Date: 13 August 2021
  • Accept Date: 21 August 2021