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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Author Spotlight: Exploring the Long-Term Health Impacts of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection on Offspring
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Paternal Microplastic Exposure Alters Sperm Small Noncoding RNAs and Affects Offspring Metabolic Health in Mice.

Seung Hyun Park1, Jianfei Pan1, Xudong Zhang2

  • 1Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.

Journal of the Endocrine Society
|January 29, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Paternal exposure to microplastics (MPs) impacts offspring metabolic health, causing sex-specific obesity and insulin resistance in mice. Sperm small noncoding RNAs may mediate these intergenerational effects.

Keywords:
PANDORA-seqmicroplasticpaternal exposurerRNA-derived small RNAssmall noncoding RNAstRNA-derived small RNAs

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Reproductive Biology
  • Metabolic Disease

Background:

  • Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive environmental pollutants with potential human health risks.
  • Human exposure to MPs is widespread, with MPs found in reproductive tissues.
  • Parental exposure to contaminants can affect offspring cardiometabolic health, but MP effects are unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of paternal microplastic exposure on the metabolic health of F1 offspring in mice.
  • To explore the role of sperm small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs) in mediating intergenerational effects.

Main Methods:

  • Mice were exposed to microplastics paternally.
  • Offspring metabolic health, including diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance, was assessed.
  • Sperm sncRNA profiles were analyzed using PANDORA-seq.
  • In vitro experiments assessed the impact of sncRNAs on gene expression.

Main Results:

  • Paternal MP exposure resulted in sex-specific alterations in offspring body composition and diet-induced obesity.
  • Female offspring from MP-exposed sires exhibited exacerbated insulin resistance.
  • MP exposure altered sperm tsRNA and rsRNA profiles.
  • Specific MP-altered sncRNAs influenced gene expression in murine embryonic stem cells.

Conclusions:

  • Paternal microplastic exposure can have adverse, intergenerational effects on offspring metabolic health.
  • Sperm sncRNAs are potential mediators of these paternally acquired cardiometabolic disorders.
  • Further research is needed to understand the health consequences of plastic exposure in humans.