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Deciphering the phenotypic, inflammatory, and endocrine disrupting impacts of e-waste plastic-associated chemicals
Örebro University, Sweden.
Örebro University, Sweden.
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
Sensor Visions AB, Sweden.
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2025 (English)In: Environmental Research, ISSN 0013-9351, E-ISSN 1096-0953, Vol. 269, article id 120929Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

As the volume of plastic waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) continues to rise, a significant portion is disposed of in the environment, with only a small fraction being recycled. Both disposal and recycling pose unknown health risks that require immediate attention. Existing knowledge of WEEE plastic toxicity is limited and mostly relies on epidemiological data and association studies, with few insights into the underlying toxicity mechanisms. Therefore, this study aimed to perform comprehensive chemical screening and mechanistic toxicological assessment of WEEE plastic-associated chemicals. Chemical analysis, utilizing suspect screening based on high-resolution mass spectrometry, along with quantitative target chemical analysis, unveiled numerous hazardous compounds including polyaromatic compounds, organophosphate flame retardants, phthalates, benzotriazoles, etc. Toxicity endpoints included perturbation of morphological phenotypes using the Cell Painting assay, inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and endocrine disruption. Results demonstrated that WEEE plastic chemicals altered the phenotypes of the cytoskeleton, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, WEEE chemicals induced inflammatory responses in resting macrophages and altered inflammatory responses in lipopolysaccharide-primed macrophages. Furthermore, WEEE chemicals activated the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway, indicating oxidative stress, and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Endocrine disruption was also observed through the activation of estrogenic receptor-α (ER-α) and the induction of anti-androgenic activity. The findings show that WEEE plastic-associated chemicals exert effects in multiple subcellular sites, via different receptors and mechanisms. Thus, an integrated approach employing both chemical and toxicological methods is essential for comprehensive assessment of the toxicity mechanisms and cumulative chemical burden of WEEE plastic-associated chemicals. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Academic Press Inc. , 2025. Vol. 269, article id 120929
Keywords [en]
Circular waveguides; Communication satellites; Computer resource management; Crystal oscillators; Modems; Signal receivers; aromatic hydrocarbon receptor; endocrine disruptor; flame retardant; lipopolysaccharide; organophosphate; phthalic acid; plastic; transcription factor Nrf2; Cell painting; Chemical screening; Inflammatory response; Organics; Persistent organic pollutant; Plastic additives; Suspect chemical screening; Toxicity mechanisms; Waste from electrical and electronic equipment; Waste from electrical and electronic equipments; electronic equipment; electronic waste; endocrine disruptor; integrated approach; organophosphate; oxidative stress; persistent organic pollutant; phenotype; plastic waste; toxicity; Article; chemical analysis; controlled study; cytoskeleton; e-waste; endoplasmic reticulum; human; human cell; inflammation; macrophage; mass spectrometry; mitochondrion; oxidative stress; phenotype; U2OS cell line; Flame retardants
National Category
Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-78078DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.120929Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85215971826OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-78078DiVA, id: diva2:1950652
Note

This work was supported by the Swedish Knowledge Foundation[Grants No. 20160019; 20220122; 20230020], Vinnova, the SwedishAgency for Innovation Systems, [Grant No. 2021-03968], and AFAForsakring [Grant No. 230039]. We acknowledge scientific support fromthe Exploring Inflammation in Health and Disease (X-HiDE) Consortium,which is a strategic research profile at Orebro ¨ University funded by theKnowledge Foundation [Grant No. 20200017]. The data handling waspartially enabled by resources provided by the National AcademicInfrastructure for Supercomputing in Sweden (NAISS) and the SwedishNational Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) partially funded by theSwedish Research Council [Grant No. 2022-06725 and 2018-05973],projects SNIC 2022/5–535 and SNIC 2022/6–306.

Available from: 2025-04-08 Created: 2025-04-08 Last updated: 2025-09-23Bibliographically approved

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