Using female zebrafish as a model organism, researchers have found that aerobic exercise can influence various bodily connections, mitigating the harmful health effects of environmental nanoplastics. A study published in The FASEB Journal details how adult female zebrafish were exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics for 21 days, with or without moderate aerobic exercise.
“Once ingested, nanoplastics can traverse epithelial barriers and accumulate in various organs, including the liver, heart, brain, and ovaries, causing oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption,” the authors write. “Among these organs, the ovaries appear to be particularly susceptible; however, the mechanisms underlying nanoplastic accumulation in the ovaries and its toxicity remain understudied.”
Exposure to nanoplastics alone resulted in significant accumulation of particle-like structures within the ovaries, elevated oxidative stress, increased follicular cell death, and disrupted reproductive hormone function. It also triggered anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors in tank and shoaling tests, accompanied by increased levels of stress hormones. In contrast, concurrent aerobic exercise attenuated these effects.
The researchers further discovered that aerobic exercise counteracted nanoplastic-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis. Analyses linked these microbial alterations to enhanced fatty acid and tryptophan metabolism, which correlated with improved neuroendocrine health.
The findings suggest that aerobic exercise may alleviate nanoplastic-induced neuroendocrine dysfunction through gut-ovary-brain axis connections.
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