微塑料暴露对雌性及其子代健康的影响

The Effect of Microplastics Exposure on Female and Their Offspring Health

微塑料(microplastics,MPs)是指直径小于5 mm的塑料。作为一种新型环境污染物,MPs可以通过呼吸道、消化道和皮肤进入机体,并在肠道、肝脏和卵巢等多个组织中沉积。MPs暴露对女性生殖系统具有毒性作用,进入卵巢的MPs可对卵泡发育、卵母细胞质量和生殖内分泌激素水平产生不良影响,从而降低雌性生育力。这些负面影响主要是通过凋亡、氧化应激以及调控下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴等机制来实现。此外,近年研究还发现MPs可以进入胎盘并导致胎盘代谢异常、母胎界面免疫失衡和胎盘结构受损。而母源MPs暴露后,MPs可以通过胎盘屏障进入子代体内,对子代的神经、消化和生殖等系统产生不良影响。鉴于MPs的毒性以及在环境中的持久性,应在日常生活中针对性地减少MPs的暴露,预防或降低MPs对人类的危害。

Microplastics(MPs)refer to plastics with a diameter of less than 5 mm.As a new environmental pollutant,MPs can enter the body through the respiratory tract,digestive tract and skin,and then deposit in multiple tissues such as the intestine,liver and ovary.MPs exposure has toxic effects on the female reproductive system by affecting follicle development,oocyte quality and sex hormone levels through apoptosis,oxidative stress and disorders of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis,thereby reducing female fertility.Moreover,recent studies have found that MPs can enter the placenta and lead to the abnormal placental metabolism,immune imbalance at the maternal and fetal interface,and the impaired placental structure.MPs can further enter the offspring through the placental barrier after maternal exposure to MPs,causing adverse effects on the neural,digestive,reproductive and other multiple systems of the offspring.Given the toxicity of MPs and the persistence in environment,the exposure to MPs should be reduced in daily life to prevent human from the harm of MPs.