2. Academic Validation
  3. In vivo and In vitro assessment of the retinal toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics

In vivo and In vitro assessment of the retinal toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics

  • Environ Int. 2025 Apr:198:109420. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109420.
Jiang Zheng 1,  Lun He 2,  Qi Shi 1,  Meilan Wang 1,  Yu Ma 1,  Wenjuan Yu 1,  Lian Liu 1,  Guocheng Yu 1,  Xiaoting Liu 3,  Boguang Wang 4,  Jingxiang Zhong 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China.
  • 2 The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510260, China.
  • 3 The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China; Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China.
  • 4 The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China; Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 5 The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China; The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Jinan University, Dongguan 523129, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 40158453 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109420
Abstract

Plastic pollution has emerged as a critical global environmental challenge, yet the effects of the ingested plastic particles on ocular health remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the impact of orally ingested polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) on the mouse retina. The in vivo experimental results showed that PS-NPs could penetrate the mouse retina within 2 h after gavage. Their levels increased at 4 h and remained detectable up to 24 h post-gavage. Prolonged exposure (28 days) to PS-NPs might disrupt the tight junctions of the inner blood-retinal barrier (iBRB). Moreover, PS-NPs induced oxidative stress in the retina by downregulating the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1, and potentially promoted Apoptosis via the upregulation of Cleaved Caspase 3. Additionally, we used human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) to model the iBRB and employed a human retinal pigment epithelial cell line (ARPE-19) to assess the potential toxicity of PS-NPs on the human retina. Our results indicated that PS-NPs penetrated and disrupted the simulated iBRB, inducing oxidative stress and promoting Apoptosis in ARPE-19 cells. This study provides critical insights into the potential risks of ingested PS-NPs to retinal health and offers novel perspectives on the broader implications of plastic pollution for humans.

Keywords

Inner blood-retinal barrier; Oxidative stress; Polystyrene nanoplastics; Retina; Toxicity.

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