oxytetracycline--anhydrous and Non-alcoholic-Fatty-Liver-Disease

Environmental pollution may give rise to the incidence and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common cause for chronic severe liver lesions. Although knowledge of NAFLD pathogenesis is particularly important for the development of effective prevention, the relationship between NAFLD occurrence and exposure to emerging pollutants, such as microplastics (MPs) and antibiotic residues, awaits assessment.. This study aimed to evaluate the toxicity of MPs and antibiotic residues related to NAFLD occurrence using the zebrafish model species.. Taking common polystyrene MPs and oxytetracycline (OTC) as representatives, typical NAFLD symptoms, including lipid accumulation, liver inflammation, and hepatic oxidative stress, were screened after 28-d exposure to environmentally realistic concentrations of MPs (. Compared with the control fish, zebrafish exposed to MPs and OTC exhibited significantly higher levels of lipid accumulation, triglycerides, and cholesterol contents, as well as inflammation, in conjunction with oxidative stress in their livers. In addition, a markedly smaller proportion of Proteobacteria and higher ratios of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes were detected by microbiome analysis of gut contents in treated samples. After the exposures, the zebrafish also experienced intestinal oxidative injury and yielded significantly fewer numbers of goblet cells. Markedly higher levels of the intestinal bacteria-sourced endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were also detected in serum. Animals treated with MPs and OTC exhibited higher expression levels of LPS binding receptor (. Our results suggested that exposure to MPs and OTC may disrupt the gut-liver axis and be associated with NAFLD occurrence. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11600.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Inflammation; Lipopolysaccharides; Liver; Microplastics; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Oxytetracycline; Plastics; Polystyrenes; Zebrafish