Table 1.
A summary of notable toxicological and/or pathological findings associated with MPs/NPs in fishes. PA, polyamide; PS, polystyrene; PE, polyethylene; PC, polycarbonate; PP, polypropylene; PVC, polyvinylchloride; NPs, nanoplastics (<1 µm); MPs, microplastics.
| Fishes | Properties of MPs/NPs Used | Tissue Accumulation/ Invasion or Cellular Uptake |
Notes on Toxicological, Pathological, or Behavioral Observations | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crucian Carp (Carassius carassius) | 24 and 27 nm polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles (NPs) (to fish through an aquatic food chain, from algae through Daphnia) | Trophic transfer to fish from algae through Daphnia | • Defects in feeding and shoaling behavior • Defects in metabolism • Changes in brain appearance and weight |
Mattsson et al., 2015 [35] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | Virgin PS microplastic beads (5 µm) + cadmium (Cd) | • Increased Cd accumulation in livers, guts, and gills • Enhanced Cd toxicity • combined exposure caused oxidative damage and inflammation in tissues |
Lu et al., 2018 [90] | |
| European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) | Fluorescence red polymer microspheres, (1–5 μm) and mercury individually and in combination | • Inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and increase lipid oxidation in brain and muscle • Changes in activity of metabolic enzymes • Interactions and influences on mercury bioaccumulation |
Barboza et al., 2018 [49] | |
| Crucian Carp (Carassius carassius) | Amino-modified positively charged PS nanoparticles (52 nm) | Trophic transfer to fish from algae through Daphnia. Nanoparticles found in fish brain | • Changes in feeding time • Changes in brain morphology (gyri sizes) |
Mattsson et al., 2017 [68] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | PS NPs (50 nm, 1 mg/L) | Accumulation in zebrafish larvae | • Inhibited of larvae locomotion • Inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity • Upregulation of cytoskeletal markers |
Chen et al., 2017 [69] |
| African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) | Virgin (50 or 500 µg/L) or phenanthrene-loaded (10 or 100 µg/L) low-density polyethylene (LDPE) fragments | • Liver and gill histopathology • Changes in blood biochemistry • Changes in the expression of reproductive axis genes |
Karami et al., 2016 [75] | |
| Medaka (Oryzias melastigma) | PS microspheres (10–11 μm, 0.758 ± 0.217 × 105 particles/L) | Microplastics observed in observed in digestive tracts of larvae and dissected intestine of adults | • Increased mortality and decrease in average lengths and weights of larvae and adult fishes • Significant decrease in egg production by females |
Cong et al., 2019 [76] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | PS NPs (mean 51 nm) | Uptake of the nanoparticles by embryos and larvae. Migrated to the gastrointestinal tract, gallbladder, liver, pancreas, heart, and brain throughout development |
• Decreased heart rate • Altered larval behavior (swimming hypoactivity in exposed larvae) • Maternal-offspring transfer of PS nanoparticles • Delay/defect in swim bladder inflation by exposed F1 larvae |
Pitt et al., 2018 [70,78] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | PS microspheres (70 nm, 5 μm, and 20 μm, 20 mg/L) | Accumulation in gills, gut, and liver (only the 5 μm particles) | • Liver histopathology (signs of inflammation and lipid accumulation) • Elevation of anti-oxidative stress enzymes • Changes in liver metabolomics profile |
Lu et al., 2016 [79] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | PS MPs (10–45 µm, 20 mg/L) | Ingested microplastics observed in larvae gut | • Significant changes in transcriptome of zebrafish larvae after 2 days exposure • Downregulation of genes involved with neural development and function • Changes in genes associated with metabolism |
LeMoine et al., 2018 [80] |
| Red tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | PS NPs (0.1 µm, at 1, 10, and 100 μg/L) | PS MPs found in gut and gills and to a lesser extent, liver and brain | • Inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity • Changes in liver enzyme markers |
Ding et al., 2018 [81] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | Fluorescent and virgin PS MPs (5 and 50 µm) | Ingested microplastics observed in gut of larvae | • Changes in larval gut microbiota • Metabolomic alterations • Changes in the expression of genes associated with glucose and lipid metabolism • Significant reduction in the antioxidant GSH and the enzyme catalase |
Wan et al., 2019 [82] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | PS microplastic beads (5-μm beads; 50 μg/L and 500 μg/L) | Accumulation of microplastics in zebrafish gut | • Induction of inflammation and oxidative stress of adult zebrafish gut • Significant alterations in the metabolome and microbiome of adult zebrafish gut. Alterations were associated with oxidative stress, inflammation, and lipid metabolism |
Qiao et al., 2019 [83] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | Polyamides (PA), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (~70 µm) and PS (0.1, 1, and 5 µm) particles | • Intestinal damage of adult fish gut | Lei et al., 2018 [84] | |
| Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) | PS (41.0 nm) and polycarbonate (PC) (158.7 nm) NPs | Neutrophil phagocytosis of PS nanoparticles. | • significant increases in innate immune response (in terms of degranulation of primary granules and neutrophil extracellular trap release) | Greven et al., 2016 [88] |
| Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) | Virgin polyvinylchloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE) (40–150 μm) | • Increased oxidative burst of in leukocytes of Sparus aurata • Upregulation of the redox regulator Nrf2 in leukocytes of Sparus aurata |
Espinosa et al., 2018 [89] | |
| Carp (Cyprinus carpio) | MPs from a face and body scrub, mainly PE (250 and 500 μg/L), alone and + Cd | • Changes in plasma levels of various metabolic enzymes and immune markers • Combination of MP and Cd increased Cd toxicity |
Banaee et al., 2019 [47] | |
| Black rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii) | PS MP/NPs (0.5 and 15 μm at 190 μg/L) | • Changes in behavior, including reduction in fish swimming speed and range of movement • Increased oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion, reduction of growth and energy reserve, with microparticles having greater effect than nanoparticles |
Yin et al., 2019 [71] | |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | PE MPs (10–600 μm at 2 mg/L) | MPs accumulation in gill and intestine | • Abnormal behaviors, including erratic movement, seizures, and morphological changes associated with MP feeding of adult fishes • Upregulation of intestinal Cytochrome P450 gene (cyp 1a) and liver vitellogenin 1 |
Mak et al., 2019 [72] |
| Medaka (Oryzias melastigma) | PS nanoparticles (10 μm at 2–200 μg/L) | MPs accumulation in gill, intestine, and liver | • Oxidative stress and structural damages in tissues with MP accumulation • Reproductive endocrine disruption in a sex-dependent manner. • Prenatal exposure to MPs affected the early development of offspring |
Wang et al., 2019 [77] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | PS nanoplastics, 25 nm | NP accumulation in intestine, pancreas, and gallbladder of exposed larvae | • Disruption of glucose homeostasis • Increase cortisol levels and hyperactivity |
Brun et al., 2019 [87] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | PS and PE NPs (with size distribution indicated as 90% < 90 µm; 50% < 50 µm; 10% < 25 µm) | • Alterations in intestinal mucosa and gill epithelium with higher neutrophil infiltration • Changes in the expression of immune system genes, down-regulation of genes correlated with epithelium integrity and lipid metabolism • Changes in daily activity pattern |
Limonta et al., 2019 [91] | |
| Japanese Medaka (Tigriopus japonicas) | PS MP/NPs, 50 nm and 10 μm | • Increase in ROS with corresponding changes in GSH and antioxidant enzyme activities | Choi et al., 2019 [92] | |
| Oryzias latipes | PS MPs, 10 μm | MP accumulation in gill and gut | • Dose-dependent decreases in egg number in mature females • Swollen enterocytes and histological alterations of buccal cavity, head kidney, and spleen |
Zhu et al., 2019 [93] |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | PE MPs, 38.26 ± 15.64 µm | • MPs induced significant changes in morphometric parameters of larvae • MPs cause lower larval survival rate after egg hatching. |
Malafaia et al., 2019 [94] | |
| Japanese Medaka (Tigriopus japonicas) | Environmental MP samples collected from beaches | • Larvae ingestion of MPs decreased viability, decreased head/body ratios, increased Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, DNA breaks and altered swimming behavior • Juveniles exhibited no symptoms except for increase in DNA breaks |
Pannetier et al., 2020 [73] | |
| Goldfish (Carassius auratus) | PS MP/NPs, 70 nm and 5 µm, at 10, 100 and 1000 μg/L | • MP/NPs inhibit fish larvae growth at high levels, increased larvae heart rate and decreased swimming speed • Observations of histopathological changes to intestine, liber and gill, and damages to skin and muscle • MP/NPs elevated oxidative stress markers and related enzymes |
Yang et al., 2020 [74] | |
| Carp (Cyprinus carpio) | PVC MPs, ~100–200 μm, at 45.55, 91.1, and 136.65 μg/L | • MPs reduced weight and body length of carp larvae • Histopathological changes in liver • Elevated oxidative stress and related enzyme activities |
Xia et al., 2020 [85] | |
| Non-laboratory feeding observations | ||||
| Wild fishes (Dicentrachus labrax, Trachurus trachurus, Scomber colias) sampled from North East Atlantic Ocean | MPs found in 49% of fishes | MPs found in gastrointestinal tract, gills. and dorsal muscle | • Fishes with MP have significantly higher lipid peroxidation levels in the brain, gills. and dorsal muscle and increased brain acetylcholinesterase activity | Barboza et al., 2019 [95] |