Periodic Reporting for period 2 - AURORA (Actionable eUropean ROadmap for early-life health Risk Assessment of micro- and nanoplastics)
Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2024-03-31
Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are everywhere, and humans are increasingly exposed to them through air, water, and food. Disconcertingly, very little is known about the uptake of MNPs in the human body, nor about their kinetics (distribution), accumulation, and biological and health consequences. There is currently no roadmap indicating research directions and priorities.
The AURORA project (https://auroraresearch.eu/(opens in new window)) will address roadblocks in MNP exposure assessment by advancing analytical methods for measuring MNPs in human tissues. The project focuses on MNP exposure and toxicological effects during pregnancy, in utero, and in early life. These are periods that are critical for development and health later in life, and of heightened vulnerability to environmental insults.
AURORA will assess MNP exposure at three levels (maternal, maternal/fetal interface, and fetal) and will address the effects of MNPs on early-life and female reproductive health (including perturbations to placental function, immune-inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, accelerated aging, endocrine function, and growth and development).
As much of the research on the impact of MNPs on early-life health is in its infancy, AURORA will provide a first and important step in method and knowledge development in relation to MNP risk assessment of early-life health. The newly developed understanding, methods, and tools will inform remaining knowledge and technology gaps that need to be addressed for coming to a comprehensive risk assessment of MNP exposure and early-life health and that will be disseminated through an Actionable eUropean ROadmap for early-life health Risk Assessment of micro- and nanoplastics (AURORA).
AURORA is working towards five research objectives and two support objectives:
1. Exposure characterization: to develop analytical methods and techniques for in-depth characterization of MNPs in maternal and fetal human sample matrices
2. Scalable exposure assessment: to develop a high-throughput analytical workflow with scalable methods and techniques for quantitively assessing maternal and fetal exposure to MNPs in large population cohorts
3. Toxicology: to assess toxicity, toxicokinetics and -dynamics of MNPs in experimental models
4. Epidemiology: to determine the relationship between MNP exposure and female reproductive and early-life health
5. Advance risk assessment: to develop an actionable roadmap for risk assessment of MNPs
A. Dissemination and impact: to integrate and translate the research results for stakeholders
B. Consortium management: to manage the project, coordinate the activities across the partners’ activities, and coordinate with the other CUSP research cluster projects
The AURORA project (https://auroraresearch.eu/(opens in new window)) will address roadblocks in MNP exposure assessment by advancing analytical methods for measuring MNPs in human tissues. The project focuses on MNP exposure and toxicological effects during pregnancy, in utero, and in early life. These are periods that are critical for development and health later in life, and of heightened vulnerability to environmental insults.
AURORA will assess MNP exposure at three levels (maternal, maternal/fetal interface, and fetal) and will address the effects of MNPs on early-life and female reproductive health (including perturbations to placental function, immune-inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, accelerated aging, endocrine function, and growth and development).
As much of the research on the impact of MNPs on early-life health is in its infancy, AURORA will provide a first and important step in method and knowledge development in relation to MNP risk assessment of early-life health. The newly developed understanding, methods, and tools will inform remaining knowledge and technology gaps that need to be addressed for coming to a comprehensive risk assessment of MNP exposure and early-life health and that will be disseminated through an Actionable eUropean ROadmap for early-life health Risk Assessment of micro- and nanoplastics (AURORA).
AURORA is working towards five research objectives and two support objectives:
1. Exposure characterization: to develop analytical methods and techniques for in-depth characterization of MNPs in maternal and fetal human sample matrices
2. Scalable exposure assessment: to develop a high-throughput analytical workflow with scalable methods and techniques for quantitively assessing maternal and fetal exposure to MNPs in large population cohorts
3. Toxicology: to assess toxicity, toxicokinetics and -dynamics of MNPs in experimental models
4. Epidemiology: to determine the relationship between MNP exposure and female reproductive and early-life health
5. Advance risk assessment: to develop an actionable roadmap for risk assessment of MNPs
A. Dissemination and impact: to integrate and translate the research results for stakeholders
B. Consortium management: to manage the project, coordinate the activities across the partners’ activities, and coordinate with the other CUSP research cluster projects
The AURORA project (auroraresearch.eu) has, in the second 18 months of the project (M19-M36), proceeded to method optimization and sample analysis, with the aim of developing a roadmap for human health risk assessment of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in early life. Partners have made substantial advances in validating and optimizing protocols and methods for characterizing, detecting, and quantifying MNPs in human tissues (e.g. placenta). We continued optimizing the workflow and SOPs for digestion of placenta tissues, and model nanoparticles (e.g. PA) were synthesized for consortium partners to use for their research (e.g. toxicological test). Transition to real-life samples such as measurement of perfused placenta and household dust using optimized SOPs and methodologies was significant. Additional method validation and performance testing of high-throughput mass-based MNP assays were performed, and key QA/QC protocols and best practices were incorporated to maximize the quality of our MNP measurements. Py-GC/HRMS analysis measuring MNP polymers in placenta samples is ongoing (109/800 finished), and untargeted metabolomic analysis of 798 cord blood samples matched to the placenta samples using LC-HRMS was completed. Following the screening of 16 MNPs for toxic effects in in vitro placenta cultures, PET, PVC, and PA were selected for further TIER2 and TIER3-4 experiments. The ability of MNPs to induce inflammation was investigated, and the effect of PS particles on the endocrine system was examined. The human placental MNP perfusion method and the zebrafish model of embryonic development were optimized. Research proposals for epidemiological studies were developed, and we set up a collaborative and centralized platform (i.e. DRE) and DTA for data sharing and harmonization. The systematic evidence mapping of existing approaches and gaps for human health risk assessment of MNPs was completed. Fieldwork for the study on household and lifestyle determinants of MNP exposure in females of reproductive age was finished, and collected biological and dust samples are on their way to the labs for MNP analysis. We reviewed methods for MNP assessment and exposure matrices contributing to MNP hazard, and a systematic review of empirical studies reporting human internal exposure to MNPs is ongoing. Lastly, AURORA members have actively contributed to the working groups in the CUSP cluster of projects (cusp-research.eu) including jointly organizing the CUSP event conference in September 2023 in Utrecht. In addition, a dedicated Q&A section was developed on the website, and short videos of almost all project partners explain their work were made publicly available and used in social media.
AURORA will develop an actionable European roadmap for early-life risk assessment of MNP exposure. Pregnancy and early life are important stages to assess because the developing fetus and children are more vulnerable than adults to many environmental risk factors. Although current risk paradigms exist for (nano)particles and chemicals, these are insufficient to assess the potential risks of MNP exposure, during early life in particular.
In addition to a roadmap for risk assessment (Figure 2), the AURORA project will progress beyond the state of the art by delivering
• Methods and tools for in-depth characterization of MNPs in human samples;
• Scalable methods and tools for MNP exposure assessment in human populations;
• New insights into the toxicological effects of MNPs on placental integrity and function, system homeostasis, and early-life development;
• First-ever insights into early-life health effects of MNP exposure through explorative studies in birth cohorts, using the scalable methods developed for exposure assessment.
In addition to a roadmap for risk assessment (Figure 2), the AURORA project will progress beyond the state of the art by delivering
• Methods and tools for in-depth characterization of MNPs in human samples;
• Scalable methods and tools for MNP exposure assessment in human populations;
• New insights into the toxicological effects of MNPs on placental integrity and function, system homeostasis, and early-life development;
• First-ever insights into early-life health effects of MNP exposure through explorative studies in birth cohorts, using the scalable methods developed for exposure assessment.