Plastic pollution may be changing more than our environment-it could be altering the health of future generations. A new study from the University of California, Riverside, published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, reveals for the first time that a father’s exposure to microplastics (MPs) can disrupt metabolism in his offspring. Conducted with laboratory mice, the research shows that fathers exposed to microscopic plastic particles can pass on a higher risk of diabetes and metabolic disorders, even without any changes in their own diet.
Microplastics—tiny fragments less than 5 millimeters wide—form when consumer products and industrial waste break down. They’ve already been found in human organs and reproductive systems, raising alarm about their potential health effects. But while previous studies focused mostly on maternal exposure, this work led by Dr. Changcheng Zhou of UCR’s School of Medicine extends concern to fathers.
In the experiment, male mice were first exposed to environmentally relevant levels of MPs while being fed a normal diet. These males were then bred with unexposed females, and their offspring (F1 generation) were given a high fat diet to mimic modern eating habits and reveal hidden metabolic traits. Although the fathers showed no signs of illness, their female offspring developed diabetic like symptoms, while male offspring experienced reduced fat mass but no diabetes.
Detailed genetic analysis of liver tissue from the affected females showed increased activity of inflammatory and pro diabetic genes, patterns previously linked to type 2 diabetes in humans. To understand how these effects were transmitted, the researchers used an advanced screening tool known as PANDORA seq, a next generation sequencing platform developed at UCR. They found that microplastic exposure had changed the non coding RNA content of sperm, particularly tRNA derived and rRNA derived small RNAs—molecular messengers that regulate gene expression during early development.
The findings suggest that microplastics can leave a molecular “fingerprint” in sperm, priming the next generation for disease. Although the study was done in animals, Zhou believes the implications for humans are significant.
REFERENCE: Seung Hyun Park, Jianfei Pan, Xudong Zhang, Ting-An Lin, Sijie Tang, Xiuchun Li, Sihem Cheloufi, Qi Chen, Tong Zhou, Changcheng Zhou, Paternal microplastic exposure alters sperm small non-coding RNAs and affects offspring metabolic health in mice, Journal of the Endocrine Society, 2025;, bvaf214, https://doi.org/10.1210/jendso/bvaf214
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