{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,5]],"date-time":"2026-11-05T23:59:59Z","timestamp":1793923199556,"version":"4.8.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,19]],"date-time":"2025-12-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1766102400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) can cross the placenta and blood\u2013brain barrier to accumulate in the fetal brain following inhalation or ingestion, raising concerns about PS-NPs-induced developmental neurotoxicity (DNT). However, current evidence regarding the mechanisms underlying PS-NPs-elicited DNT remains critically scarce. Given the inherent limitations of two-dimensional cell culture techniques, we employed a whole-brain organoid (WBO) model, which more faithfully recapitulates the dynamic changes and substantial alterations during the early development of the human nervous system, to investigate the PS-NPs-induced DNT. Developing WBOs were exposed to 50-nm PS-NPs at concentrations of 50 and 100 \u03bcg\/mL. Additionally, we established an early developmental exposure model in neonatal rat for robust validation. The results revealed aberrant formation of the tissue architecture of neural epithelial buds in PS-NPs-exposed WBOs, accompanied by significant inflammatory responses and oxidative stress. Marked DNA damage and substantial activation of the TLR9\/MyD88 pathway were observed in WBOs and in the cerebral cortex of neonatal rat, leading to significant upregulation of the excitotoxicity marker c-Fos and the excitatory synaptic marker NMDAR. In vitro assays revealed that melatonin treatment could efficiently counteract PS-NPs-mediated neuronal impairment, with both the reduced cell viability and excessive DNA damage induced by PS-NPs being restored to levels close to those of the control group. In conclusion, by establishing WBOs and early developmental exposure models in neonatal rat, we found that PS-NPs can induce DNA double-strand breaks, and activation of the TLR9 pathway mediates PS-NPs-induced excitotoxicity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxics14010005","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,23]],"date-time":"2025-12-23T14:27:47Z","timestamp":1766500067000},"page":"5","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Polystyrene Nanoplastics Induce DNA Damage and Excitotoxicity in Whole-Brain Organoids: The Role of the TLR9\/MyD88 Pathway"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-8491-9458","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yizhe","family":"Wei","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, China"},{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gaofang","family":"Cao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianping","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanan","family":"Mi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, China"},{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yiming","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-5809-2933","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leili","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bingyan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huanliang","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yue","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenqing","family":"Lai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8968-5277","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lei","family":"Tian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bencheng","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Military Medical Sciences Academy, Academy of Military Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5084","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.0c07384","article-title":"Lifetime Accumulation of Microplastic in Children and Adults","volume":"55","author":"Kooi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environ. 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