Ingestion Effect of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Nanoparticles on Juveniles of Shrimp <i>Litopenaeus vannamei</i>

Abstract

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is among the major plastics produced, and thus the PET nanoparticles are distributed worldwide in marine systems. In this work, the effects of PET nanoparticles (NanoPET) in the shrimp feed were determined in juveniles of shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. No significant changes in the concentrations of triglycerides and cholesterol in hemolymph were detected. A slight but not significantly higher nitrites content in the shrimp hepatopancreas was detected when the NanoPET concentration in the feed was increased, while a significant higher ROS generation was detected at high NanoPET concentration. This increase in ROS generation matched with the increase of gene expression of antioxidative proteins catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase, while glutathione transferase was not affected. Thus, these increased levels of antioxidant enzymes in shrimps exposed to NanoPET seem to be a protection response by the generation of free radicals induced by the presence of nanoplastic.