Testicular Toxicity Assessment of Chronic Low-Dose Exposure to Polystyrene Nanoparticles in Multiexposure Models Using Drosophila

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Recent research has underscored the widespread presence of plastic in diverse ecosystems, prompting concerns about its potential long-term impacts on organisms. However, the reproductive toxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles (PSNPs) is contingent on factors, such as drug concentrations, exposure duration, delivery method, and PSNP characteristics. Consequently, the evaluation of testicular toxicity stemming from chronic PSNP exposure warrants a systematic investigation. This study extensively probed the potential toxicity of PSNPs on testes using multiexposure models. Three distinct long-term exposure paradigms (adult, gestational, and cross-generational exposure) were executed to assess PSNP-induced testicular toxicity (80 nm) in Drosophila . Nevertheless, spermatogenesis exhibited no discernible alterations following exposure to 75, 150, and 300 μg/mL of PSNPs in the adult and gestational exposure models. Furthermore, cross-generational exposure to PSNPs did not perturb testicular phenotype or offspring fertility from the F1 to F4 generations. These findings imply that chronic consumption of low-dose PSNPs may not suffice to induce testicular dysfunction, providing fresh insights into the dosage and duration of PSNP exposure.