EFFECTS OF MATERNAL EXPOSURE TO PLASTIC WASTE ON OFFSPRING: A DOHAD APPROACH

• Grant number: 25/01977-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Embryology
• Principal Investigator: Wellerson Rodrigo Scarano
• Grantee: Wellerson Rodrigo Scarano
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Botucatu
• Associated researchers: Arielle Cristina Arena ; Glaura Scantamburlo Alves Fernandes ; Jodi Flaws

Abstract

Plastics are synthetic, complex, and heterogeneous materials. Their composition is based on a carbon-based polymer structure and thousands of chemical additives used to control properties such as color, flexibility, stability, water resistance, ultraviolet resistance, and flame retardancy. From a production standpoint, global plastic manufacturing in 2002 was approximately 204 million tons, and by 2021, this figure had reached 390.7 million tons-almost double the production in 19 years. When plastics enter the environment, they degrade into microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), which can penetrate the body through respiration, ingestion of contaminated water and food, and via the skin. Phthalates are plastic additives that are not covalently bound to the polymer and, therefore, are easily released into the environment. Pregnancy and breastfeeding are periods of heightened susceptibility to the effects of micro/nanoplastics and phthalates, as both can cross the placental barrier and have hydrophobic properties that allow them to pass through breast milk. This project aims to investigate the effects of maternal exposure to an environmentally relevant mixture of phthalates (MF) and nanoplastics (NP), both alone and in combination, during pregnancy and lactation. The study will be divided into four subprojects: 1. Sexual behavior and sex-specific hypothalamic global proteomic profiles of rats exposed to plastic waste at different stages of development; 2. Structural and molecular impacts of perinatal exposure to plastic waste on the postnatal development of the rat testis; 3. Plastic waste and reproductive toxicology: in vivo, in vitro, and in silico approaches to female reproductive aspects; 4. Impact of perinatal exposure to plastic waste on functional and oncogenic targets in the prostate of older rats. For the experimental design, pregnant Sprague Dawley rats will be distributed into six experimental groups: C: (control; vehicle); T1: 20 µg/kg/day MF; T2: 200 mg/kg/day MF; T3: NPs; T4: 20 µg/kg/day MF + NPs; T5: 200 mg/kg/day MF + NPs. The mixing ratio was based on a study that determined the amount of different phthalates in the urine of pregnant women, and the doses were based on environmental and occupational exposure levels. 100 nm polystyrene nanospheres will be used at a concentration of 1.0 mg/kg/day. Treatment will be administered orally from gestational day 10 (GD10) to postnatal day 21 (PND21). Studies like this can deepen scientific discussions on the effects and mechanisms of plastic waste on biological systems and promote public policies related to the production, dispersion and reuse of plastic in the world. (AU)