Impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on ruminant reproduction

Supervisor: Prof. Stradaioli Giuseppe

The pollution of Microplastics (MPs) and Nanoplastics (NPs) is one of the main environmental problems of the last decade, representing a growing threat to human and animal health. In the aquatic environment there is a lot of information regarding the perturbation of marine organisms; instead, still few are the data concerning the pathophysiological consequences of an acute and chronic exposure to MPs and NPs in mammalian system, especially towards the reproductive system. Several studies report the damage caused by plastic particles including oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammatory response, dysregulation of the endocrine system and accumulation in various organs. The present project, focuses on the impact on the bovine reproduction of NPs. In addition to the effect of these pollutants on animal health, however, the project also aims to be a potential study model on the impact of human health, linked to the possibility that such contaminants have to enter along the entire food chain until they reach humans, especially through nutrition. The objective of the project is to highlight the effect of NPs on the vital and metabolic functions of bovine granulosa cells through microscopic and biochemical evaluations, it is also expected, to quantify the same through the use of molecular biology technique.