Polystyrene microplastics disrupt the blood-testis barrier integrity through ROS-Mediated imbalance of mTORC1 and mTORC2

It has been found that polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) exposure leads to decreased sperm quality and quantity, and we aim to explore the underlying mechanisms. Therefore, we gave 20 mg/kg body weight (bw) and 40 mg/kg bw 4 mu m and 10 mu m PS-MPs to male Balb/c mice by gavage. RNA sequencing of testes was performed. After PS-MPs exposure, blood-testis barrier (BTB) integrity was impaired. Since cytoskeleton was closely related to BTB integrity maintenance, and cytoskeleton disorganization could be induced by PS-MPs exposure in the testis, which resulted in the truncation of actin filaments and disruption of BTB integrity. Such processes were attributed to the differential expression of Arp3 and Eps8 (two of the most important actin-binding proteins). According to the transcriptome sequencing results, we examined the oxidative stress level in the testes and Sertoli cells. We found that PS-MPs exposure induced increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, which destroyed the balance between mTORC1 and mTORC2 (the mTORC1 activity was increased, while the mTORC2 activity was decreased). In conclusion, PS-MPs induced the imbalance of mTORC1 and mTORC2 via the ROS burst, and altered the expression profile of actin-binding proteins, resulting in F-actin disorganization and reduced expression of junctional proteins in the BTB. Eventually PS-MPs led to BTB integrity disruption and spermatogenesis dysfunction.

Automated summary

Exposure to polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) has been found to decrease sperm quality and quantity in male Balb/c mice. This is likely due to the disruption of blood-testis barrier (BTB) integrity, induced by PS-MPs causing cytoskeleton disorganization and imbalanced mTORC1 and mTORC2 activities via increased ROS levels.