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Atlas and source of the microplastics of male reproductive system in human and mice

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Abstract

Regarding the impact of microplastics (MPs) on the male reproductive system, previous studies have identified a variety of MPs in both human semen and testicular samples. These studies have put forward the hypothesis that small particles can enter the semen through the epididymis and seminal vesicles. Here, we performed qualitative and quantitative analyses of MPs in human testis, semen, and epididymis samples, as well as in testis, epididymis, seminal vesicle, and prostate samples from mice via pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). The goal of this approach was to comprehensively characterize the distribution of MPs within the male reproductive system. Additionally, we aimed to evaluate potential sources of MPs identified in semen, as well as to identify possible sources of overall MP exposure. Our results highlighted a general atlas of MPs in the male reproductive system and suggested that MPs in semen may originate from the epididymis, seminal vesicles, and prostate. An exposure questionnaire, coupled with the characteristics of the MPs detected in the male reproductive system, revealed that high urbanization, home-cooked meals, and using scrub cleansers were important sources of MP exposure in men. These findings may provide novel insights into alleviating the exposure of men to MPs.

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The data underlying this paper will be shared on reasonable request to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the doctors in the reproductive medicine center and the operating room of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University for their support of our work. We would like to thank Weipu (Shanghai, China) for the technical support and the plastic-free containers and fluids required for the sample collection process.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFC2700901), National Natural Science Foundation of China (81971441, 82171607), Top Telent Program of the Education Department of Anhui Province (gxbjZD2020061), Non-profit Central Research Institute Fund of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019PT310002), Research Fund of Anhui Institute of Translational Medicine (ZHYX2020A001), the Postgraduate Innovation Research and Practice Program of Anhui Medical University (YJS20230078).

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Author notes

  1. Wen Yang, Longmei Wu, Guanjian Li, Lan Shi and Junqiang Zhang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reproductive Medicine Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, 230022, China

    Wen Yang, Longmei Wu, Guanjian Li, Lan Shi, Junqiang Zhang, Liting Liu, Yuge Chen, Hui Yu, Kai Wang, Lei Xin, Dongdong Tang, Qunshan Shen, Chuan Xu, Hao Geng, Huan Wu, Zongliu Duan & Yunxia Cao

  2. Reproductive Medicine Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200080, China

    Xiaojin He

  3. NHC Key Laboratory of Study On Abnormal Gametes and Reproductive Tract (Anhui Medical University), Anhui, 230032, China

    Wen Yang, Longmei Wu, Guanjian Li, Lan Shi, Junqiang Zhang, Liting Liu, Yuge Chen, Hui Yu, Kai Wang, Lei Xin, Dongdong Tang, Qunshan Shen, Chuan Xu, Hao Geng, Huan Wu, Zongliu Duan, Yunxia Cao & Xiaojin He

  4. Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle (Anhui Medical University), Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Anhui, 230032, China

    Wen Yang, Guanjian Li, Lan Shi, Junqiang Zhang, Liting Liu, Yuge Chen, Hui Yu, Kai Wang, Lei Xin, Dongdong Tang, Qunshan Shen, Chuan Xu, Hao Geng, Huan Wu, Zongliu Duan & Yunxia Cao

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anhui Public Health Clinical Center, Hefei, China

    Longmei Wu

Authors
  1. Wen Yang
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  2. Longmei Wu
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  4. Lan Shi
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Contributions

J.X. and X.Y. contributed to the research design and the conception; W.Y., M.L., J.G., and Q.J. conducted this study; W.Y., M.L., J.G., Q.J., T.L., G.Y., H.Y., K.W., L.X., D.D., S.Q., C.X., H.G., and L.Z. collected the data of all study participants and the biological samples; W.Y., and M.L. performed the data input, disposal, and analysis; W.Y., M.L., J.G., and Q.J. wrote this manuscript; J.X., X.Y., and L.S. carefully revised this manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of this manuscript for delivery.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaojin He.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study received approval from the ethics committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (Approval No. PJ2023-04-12). All aspects of the study involving human participants were conducted in strict accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation in the survey, ensuring that they were fully aware of the study's objectives, procedures, potential risks, and benefits.

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Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

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Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Highlights

• MPs are ubiquitous in the male reproductive system and with the higher level in testes.

• The dominant MPs are PVC, PE, and PA66.

• The MPs found in semen may originate from the epididymis, seminal vesicles, and prostate.

• High urbanization, scrub cleanser use may be the main sources of male MP exposure.

Supplementary Information

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Supplementary file1 (DOCX 6509 KB)

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Yang, W., Wu, L., Li, G. et al. Atlas and source of the microplastics of male reproductive system in human and mice. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 25046–25058 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32832-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32832-x

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