Metal ion transport: unveiling the difference of nanoplastics and microplastics in Chiromantes dehaani glucolipid metabolism

Abstract

Microplastic pollution has emerged as a prominent concern within the global environmental landscape, given its propensity for substantial accumulation in estuaries, thereby posing threats to both biodiversity and human food security. Although there is growing apprehension regarding the toxicity associated with plastic particles, our comprehension of their size-dependent effects (microplastics (>500 nm, MPs), micro/nanoplastics (500 nm, MNPs), and nanoplastics (<500 nm, NPs)) remains somewhat constrained. To comprehensively evaluate the risk of plastic particles with different sizes to organisms inhabiting estuarine habitats, we selected Chiromantes dehaani as our experimental model. This study employed transcriptome analysis and biochemical index determination to elucidate alterations and mechanisms in glycolipid metabolism in C. dehaani exposure to plastic particles (NPs, 80 nm; MNPs, 500 nm; and MPs, 1000 nm). Our findings revealed that NPs, MNPs and MPs all inhibited glucolipid metabolism, especially catabolism. MPs showed higher inhibition in key glucolipid catabolism genes HK, PFK and CPT1α than NPs. Further research found that MPs exhibited notable inhibitory effects on key genes associated with NADH dehydrogenase in the respiratory chain compared to NPs and MNPs. Although NPs, MNPs and MPs all decreased the uptake of extracellular copper and iron ions (key components of respiratory chain enzymes) by decreasing copper transporter 1 (Ctr1) and transferrin (Tf), NPs promoted the intracellular iron ion storage and transport by increasing ferritin and mitoferrin, relieving the inhibitory effects on the respiratory chain. In summary, this investigation elucidated the differences in copper and iron ion transport, respiratory chain functionality, and glycolipid metabolism in C. dehaani induced by NPs, MNPs and MPs, shedding light on the different effects between NPs and MPs.