Micro(nano)plastic, as a new type of environmental pollutant, have become a potential threat to the life and health of various stages of biology. However, it is not yet clear whether they will affect brain development in the fetal stage. Therefore, this study aims to explore the potential effects of nanoplastics on the development of fetal rat brains. To assess the allocation of NPs (25 nm and 50 nm) in various regions of the fetal brain, pregnant rats were exposed to concentrations (50, 10, 2.5, and 0.5 mg/kg) of PS-NPs. Our results provided evidence of the transplacental transfer of PS-NPs to the fetal brain, with a prominent presence observed in several cerebral regions, notably the cerebellum, hippocampus, striatum, and prefrontal cortex. This distribution bias might be linked to the developmental sequence of each brain region. Additionally, we explored the influence of prenatal exposure on the myelin development of the cerebellum, given its the highest PS-NP accumulation in offspring. Compared with control rats, PS-NPs exposure caused a significant reduction in myelin basic protein (MBP) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) expression, a decrease in myelin thickness, an increase in cell apoptosis, and a decline in the oligodendrocyte population. These effects gave rise to motor deficits. In conclusion, our results identified the specific distribution of NPs in the fetal brain following prenatal exposure and revealed that prenatal exposure to PS-NPs can suppress myelin formation in the cerebellum of the fetus.

中文翻译：

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聚苯乙烯纳米塑料在胎鼠脑中的选择性生物蓄积及其对髓磷脂发育的损害


微（纳米）塑料作为一种新型环境污染物，已成为生物各阶段生命健康的潜在威胁。但目前尚不清楚它们是否会影响胎儿阶段的大脑发育。因此，本研究旨在探讨纳米塑料对胎鼠大脑发育的潜在影响。为了评估 NP（25nm 和 50nm）在胎儿大脑各个区域的分布，将怀孕的大鼠暴露于浓度（50、10、2.5 和 0.5mg/kg）的 PS-NP。我们的结果提供了 PS-NP 经胎盘转移至胎儿大脑的证据，在几个大脑区域观察到明显的存在，特别是小脑、海马、纹状体和前额皮质。这种分布偏差可能与每个大脑区域的发育顺序有关。此外，我们还探讨了产前暴露对小脑髓磷脂发育的影响，因为小脑在后代中 PS-NP 积累最高。与对照大鼠相比，PS-NPs暴露导致髓鞘碱性蛋白（MBP）和髓鞘少突胶质细胞糖蛋白（MOG）表达显着减少，髓鞘厚度减少，细胞凋亡增加，少突胶质细胞数量减少。这些影响导致运动缺陷。总之，我们的结果确定了产前暴露后胎儿大脑中 NP 的具体分布，并表明产前暴露于 PS-NP 可以抑制胎儿小脑中髓磷脂的形成。