Deleterious imprinting of perinatal exposure to nano-polystyrene on inflammatory bowel diseases
Authors: Airaud Melvin , Roldan Amandine , Cléac’h Jeanne Le , Isoard Lisa , Mas Emmanuel , Carrière Marie , Ménard Sandrine , Barreau Frédérick 
Published: December 2024

The tremendous and exponential production of plastics as well as its poor recycling leads to massive release in the environment questioning their outcomes on human health. Plastics are degraded into micro-plastic (MPL) and nano-plastic (NPL) that undergo weathering. MPL and NPL enter the human food chain via contaminated food, when animals are bred or vegetables grew on in plastic polluted environment and through the degradation of plastics food packaging. Ingested MPL or NPL can pass through epithelial barrier. This study focuses on consequences of oral perinatal exposure to polystyrene 50nm pristine or weathered (w) on intestinal disorders onset in offspring.

Mouse were forced fed daily with 1.25mg of PS50 or PS50w starting at 15 days of gestation until pups weaned (Post Natal Day PND21). Oral tolerance protocol was induced at PND15 (nutritional switch) with ovalbumin (OVA) whereas DSS-induced colitis was performed in PND63 offspring.

PS50 nor PS50w perinatal exposure did impair tolerance or immunization to OVA at PND15 in male or females. However, PS50 and PS50w perinatal exposure significantly worsened macroscopic score of DSS-induced colitis in both sexes. Perinatal exposure to PS50w appeared to be even more deleterious than PS50 for colitis exacerbation in males.

In conclusion, early life exposure to PS50 or PS50w has long-lasting consequences on gut physiology by increasing the colonic severity of colitis while it does not modify oral tolerance establishment in early life. Those preliminary results questioned the kinetic of perinatal PS50 and PS50w exposure outcome over the life course and introduce the notion of imprinting.

Highlights

Perinatal exposure to PS50 or PS50w does not affect oral tolerance establishment nor immune response to immunisation at PND15

Perinatal exposure to PS50 or PS50w have long lasting consequences on intestinal inflammation and colitis. PS50w in male has even more deleterious outcomes.

Restricted exposure to PS50 or PS50w during perinatal has a deleterious imprinting on adult offspring intestinal health

Graphical abstract

Environmental implication

The use of plastics in daily products leads to ubiquitous contamination of the environment and subsequently of food chains. Plastics persist for long periods in the environment where, submitted to climate, they fragment into nanoplastic particles (NPL). Indeed, these NPL are weathered due to their exposure to UV light, thermal, chemical, physical and biological stresses. Thus, human populations are exposed to pristine (NPLp) and weathered NPL (NPLw) in their daily lives, with unknown effect on intestinal health, including the diseases development like adverse Food Reactions (AFR) or Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). Given that these pathologies could originate in perinatal development and that pregnant and breastfeeding women are exposed to NPL on a daily basis, this study explores the impact of perinatally exposure to pristine or weathered polystyrene nanoplastics on the gut development and susceptibility.