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Abstract
In common with the increase in environmental pollution in the past 10 years, there has also been a recent increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this regard, we hypothesized that exposure to microplastics is a potential risk factor for ASD. To evaluate the validity of this hypothesis, we initially examined the accumulation of polyethylene (PE) in the brains of mice and then assessed the behavioral effects using mouse models at different life stages, namely, prenatal, post-weaning, puberty, and adult models. Based on typical behavioral assessments of autistic traits in the model mice, we established that ASD-like traits were induced in mice after PE feeding. In addition, we examined the induction of ASD-like traits in response to microplastic exposure using positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, microarray, and microbiome analysis. We believe these findings provide evidence in microplastics as a potential risk factor for ASD.

Affiliations

Javeria Zaheer  1 , Hyeongi Kim  2 , In Ok Ko  3 , Eun-Kyeong Jo  4 , Eui-Ju Choi  5 , Hae-June Lee  6 , Insop Shim  7 , Hyun-Jeong Woo  8 , Jonghoon Choi  8 , Gun-Ha Kim  9 , Jin Su Kim  10
1 Division of RI Application, Korea Institute Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul 01812, Republic of Korea; Radiological and Medico-Oncological Sciences, University of Science and Technology (UST), Seoul 01812, Republic of Korea.
2 Division of RI Application, Korea Institute Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul 01812, Republic of Korea; Department of Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
3 Division of RI Application, Korea Institute Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul 01812, Republic of Korea.
4 School of Health & Environmental Science, College of Health Science, Korea University Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
5 Department of Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
6 Division of Radiation Biomedical Research, Korea Institute Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul 01812, Republic of Korea.
7 Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02453, Republic of Korea.
8 Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Integrative Engineering, College of ICT Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea.
9 Department of Pediatrics, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Korea Institute Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul 01812, Republic of Korea.
10 Division of RI Application, Korea Institute Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul 01812, Republic of Korea; Radiological and Medico-Oncological Sciences, University of Science and Technology (UST), Seoul 01812, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kjs@kirams.re.kr.