Microplastics affect the health of future children through their impact on sperm.
The impact of microplastics on men's bodies may increase the risk of metabolic disorders in their offspring, a new study by scientists from the University of California has shown. Experiments on mice demonstrated that even in the absence of obesity in males, exposure to microplastics affects the health of the next generation. The work is published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society (JES).
Researchers found that the daughters of males exposed to microplastics developed signs of diabetes and other metabolic disorders significantly more often when fed a high-fat diet. They exhibited changes in liver function associated with the activation of pro-inflammatory and 'diabetic' genes. Meanwhile, the male offspring showed almost no such effects — they only experienced a slight reduction in fat mass.
The mechanism was found to be related not to DNA mutations, but to changes in regulatory molecules in sperm. Exposure to microplastics altered the set of small non-coding RNAs that control how actively genes are turned on during the early stages of embryo development. Essentially, the pollution affected the 'settings' of hereditary information.
The authors emphasize that the results were obtained in animals; however, they point to a potentially important and underestimated pathway through which plastic pollution affects the health of future generations. According to them, the impact of microplastics may be not only an individual but also an intergenerational problem, which requires a reassessment of approaches to evaluating environmental risks.
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