Abstract
This study aims to assess the impact of microplastics (MPs) on erythrocytes using eryptosis (apoptosis) and an erythron profile (poikilocytosis and nuclear abnormalities), considered to be novel biomarkers in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). In this study, four groups of fish were used: The first was the control group. In the second group, 1 mg/L of MPs was introduced to the samples. The third group was exposed to 10 mg/L of MPs. Finally, the fourth group was exposed to 100 mg/L of MPs for 15 days, following 15 days of recovery. The fish treated with MPs experienced an immense rise in the eryptosis percentage, poikilocytosis, and nuclear abnormalities of red blood cells (RBCs) compared with the control group in a concentration-dependent manner. Poikilocytosis of MP-exposed groups included sickle cell shape, schistocyte, elliptocyte, acanthocyte, and other shapes. Nuclear abnormalities of the MPs-exposed groups included micronuclei, binucleated erythrocytes, notched, lobed, blebbed, and hemolyzed nuclei. After the recovery period, a greater percentage of eryptosis, poikilocytotic cells, and nuclear abnormalities in RBCs were still evident in the groups exposed to MPs when crosschecked with the control group. The results show concerning facts regarding the toxicity of MPs in tilapia.
Highlights
Plastics consist of small monomers polymerized with supplements of additives, such as stabilizers, plasticizers, and pigments (Xu et al, 2019)
red blood cells (RBCs) of the control group appeared normal with pale-green nuclei (Figure 2), while those of the MPs-exposed groups appeared apoptotic with luminous light-green nuclei (Figure 2)
Exposure to 1, 10, and 100 mg/L of MPs was associated with a significant rise in the percentage of poikilocytosis and nuclear abnormalities of RBCs compared with the control group in a concentration-dependent manner (Tables 1, 2)
Summary
Plastics consist of small monomers polymerized with supplements of additives, such as stabilizers, plasticizers, and pigments (Xu et al, 2019). Lasee et al (2017) found that the average MP concentrations in samples obtained from lakes ranged from non-detectable (ND) to 5.51 ± 9.09 mg/L for varying size fractions. Even though it seems that the MP concentrations are directly proportional to the urban population, the research showed relatively high concentrations of MPs in remote freshwater environments with extremely low population density and industrialization (Free et al, 2014; Yonkos et al, 2014; Fischer et al, 2016). It has been hypothesized that the urban water systems are immensely underrepresented in the MP life cycle despite their potential to significantly alter the microbial distributions by availing downstream transport and increased levels of plastic-consuming microbes in these water systems (McCormick et al, 2014)
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