Metabolomics-Based Insights Into the Toxicological Effects and Mechanisms of Microplastics: A Comprehensive Review.

Micro(nano)plastics pollution and human health: How plastics can induce carcinogenesis to humans?

Morphological, physiological, and molecular responses of Perilla frutescens to copper stress alleviated by PVC microplastics.

The pollution due to plastic waste has become a major environmental and health threat worldwide. Microplastics (MPs) enter the food pyramid from the sea salt, drinking water, and by the consumption of marine animals. Micro and nanoplastics upon ingestion by both humans and animals, can efficiently cross the epithelial barriers. Exposure to MPs results in changes leading to metabolic, oxidative effects, along neurotoxic as well as reproductive toxicity, and probable carcinogenic outcomes. MPs comprise additives which may play a key role as endocrine disruptors, interfering with the body’s hormonal balance and potentially leading to a wide range of health complications in all age groups individuals including developing fetuses. MPs cause microbial dysbiosis, leading to and independently resulting in gut inflammation and dysfunction. A range of health complications, such as gut-associated disorders, inflammation, and other chronic diseases, are associated with gut disruption. In addition, circulating MPs possessing the potential to induce chronic inflammation cross the blood–brain barrier, thereby impacting through the gut-brain axis and potentially leading to neuroinflammatory effects. Exposure to MPs inhibits acetylcholinesterase activity and alters acetylcholine levels, the key contributors associated with behavior. Women’s gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is characterized by an increased presence of Ruminococcaceae, Parabacteroides distasonis, and Prevotella. These microbial diversities are linked to metabolic pathways involved in insulin signaling and carbohydrate metabolic pathways. MPs may be increasing some genera of the human gut microbiota, especially the Roseburia, Clostridium, and Prevotella. The effect of MPs on microbial dysbiosis, maternal health, and their potential metabolic repercussions needs urgent focus. The current review tries to address the effect of MPs on the microbial dysbiosis, specifically the maternal microflora and its impact leading to GDM.

Microplastics (MPs) are synthetic organic polymers. The particle sizes of MPs range from approximately 0.01 to 5 nm. The photodegradation of MPs is more difficult than that of bulk plastics. Therefore, MPs are regarded as potential persistent organic pollutants. Researches of MPs have become a hot spot, and lots of MPs studies were reported recently. Although there are a lot of studies on the migration, distribution, biological effects and analytical methods of MPs in natural environments, systematic and comprehensive review articles are emergent, especially for the recent literatures. The present work summarized the researches involving the migration, distribution, biological effects and analytical methods of MPs in recent years. MPs are generally divided into two types, primary MPs and secondary MPs. Primary MPs are intentionally designed and produced for certain purposes, while secondary MPs generate from the fragmentations of bulk plastics and the breakage of clothes fibers. Currently, researches of MPs distribution focus on in marine environments, and found that MPs distributed throughout the ocean, even in the north and south poles, driven by the flow of sea water. However, researches of on MPs distribution in fresh water and terrene are limited. Researches also showed that MPs could migrate among terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, where freshwater environments affected the migration and interaction of MPs between terrene and marine environments. Studies of biological effects of MPs focus on two parts, ingestion effects and combined effects with organic contaminants. Ingestion of MPs damages living beings and then MPs transfer through food chains. The responses of living beings to MPs are mainly related to sublethal effects at environmental-relevant concentrations. The inhibition of individual growth and reproduction, disturbance of proteins and genes, and reduction of nutrition uptake were reported for specific physiological effects of MPs. Some researches proposed that MPs could be accumulated in living organisms. Therefore, humans, as a part of the food chains, will inevitably be affected by MPs. The organic contaminants combine with the MPs released from the plasticizers in the production of MPs and then are adsorbed in the natural environments. MPs have been found in seafood. As a result, MPs become one medium of human exposure to organic pollutants. The analysis and identification of MPs are critical to other researches, such as environmental behaviors and toxicity. In general, the analytical methods of plastic include physical and chemical characterizations. Physical characterizations involve visual, microscopy and spectroscopy methods. Chemical characterization methods, such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), scanning electron microscope and energy disperse spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TDS-GC-MS) are frequently used in chemical characterizations. Although lots of analytical methods were proposed by researchers, there are still some shortcomings and limitations, for example, the influence from environmental or biological matrices. It is necessary to develop effective and accurate methods for the analysis of MPs. Through many researches of MPs were reported recently, the information of source, migration, distribution, biological effects and analytical methods of MPs is not enough to scientifically evaluate their environmental and health risks. Consequently, the present review also proposes some perspectives for MPs researches. It is worth to study the distribution of MPs in terrestrial and freshwater environments, the biological effects at individual level, the prevention and control of MPs pollution and the environmental behavior of nanoplastics. Integrating the data of MPs source, distribution, behavior and toxicity is necessary to the scientific evaluations of MPs risks. This review provides insights in the control techniques and theoretical researches of MPs.

This chapter will delve into the burgeoning concern surrounding microplastics (MPs) exposure and its insidious impact on male reproductive health. MPs, ubiquitous environmental pollutants stemming from the degradation of plastic products, have permeated various ecosystems and consequently found their way into the human body through multiple exposure routes, such as ingestion via food and water, and inhalation of airborne MP particles. The scope of this chapter encompasses an in-depth exploration of the mechanisms through which MPs exert their deleterious effects. It will examine the potential for MPs to induce oxidative stress in male reproductive tissues, leading to damage of sperm cells and disruption of the blood-testis barrier. Furthermore, the endocrine-disrupting properties of MPs will be scrutinized, as these pollutants can interfere with the normal hormonal regulation of the male reproductive system, affecting testosterone production and spermatogenesis. In addition, the chapter will present epidemiological evidence linking MPs exposure to adverse reproductive outcomes in men, such as reduced sperm quality, including decreased sperm count, motility, and morphology, as well as an increased risk of male infertility. Animal studies that have provided crucial insights into the dose-response relationships and the potential for transgenerational effects of MPs on male reproductive health will also be discussed. By synthesizing the existing body of knowledge, this chapter aims to highlight the urgent need for further research and public health interventions to mitigate the potential harm of MPs to male reproductive health.

Microplastic exposure induces structural hyperplasia in the gill tissue of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) through immunosuppression, metabolic disruption, and structural damage.

In recent years, microplastics (MPs) have attracted worldwide attention as emerging pollutants, and wastewater treatment plants are among the environment’s most important sources of MPs. This study aimed to summarize MPs effects on various aspects of sludge systems. The results showed that MPs inhibited substance transformation in sludge systems, with greater inhibition observed at higher concentrations and smaller MP particle sizes. Moreover, low concentrations of MPs promote extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) secretion, whereas high concentrations suppress EPS secretion, destroying the sludge structure. Granular sludge systems exhibit higher resistance to MPs than activated sludge systems owing to their layered structures. Micrometer-sized MPs primarily inhibit the dewatering performance of activated sludge through physical crushing, while nano-sized MPs primarily affect sludge dewatering through biological effects. However, for granular sludge system, micrometer-sized MPs were unable to penetrate the granular sludge interior, their affinity and aggregation capabilities enabled them to accumulate on the sludge surface. In contrast, nano-sized MPs can enter the interior of granular sludge and impair mass-transfer pathways, ultimately resulting in toxic effects. Furthermore, MPs induce various toxic effects in sludge systems (single and combined toxic effects). These toxic effects affect the expression of key enzymes and functional genes, leading to changes in microbial communities. Because of the layered structure of granular sludge systems, MPs may initially affect the microbial community structure outside the granules, with less impact on the internal microorganisms. However, the specific mechanism still needs to be explored. Finally, this study presents research questions and directions that require further investigation.

The presence and persistence of microplastics (MPs) in diverse aquatic environments are of global concern. Microplastics can impact marine organisms via direct physical interaction and the release of potentially harmful chemical additives incorporated into the plastic. These chemicals are physically bound to the plastic matrix and can leach out. The hazards associated with chemical additives to exposed organisms is not well characterized. We investigated the hazards of plastic additives leaching from plastic. We used the common plasticizer dibutyl phthalate (DBP) as a chemical additive proxy and the New Zealand green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) as a model. We used early-adult P. canaliculus exposed to combinations of virgin and DBP-spiked polyvinyl chloride (PVC), MPs, and DBP alone for 7 days. Whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) was conducted to assess whether leaching of DBP from MPs poses a hazard. The differences between groups were evaluated using pairwise permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA), and all treatments were significantly different from controls. In addition, a significant difference was seen between DBP and PVC MP treatment. Transcriptome analysis revealed that mussels exposed to DBP alone had the most differentially expressed genes (914), followed by PVC MP + DBP (448), and PVC MP (250). Gene ontology functional analysis revealed that the most enriched pathway types were in cellular metabolism, immune response, and endocrine disruption. Microplastic treatments enriched numerous pathways related to cellular metabolism and immune response. The combined exposure of PVC MP + DBP appears to cause combined effects, suggesting that DBP is bioavailable to the exposed mussels in the PVC MP + DBP treatment. Our results support the hypothesis that chemical additives are potentially an important driver of MP toxicity. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1604-1614. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Airborne polystyrene microplastics and nanoplastics induce nasal and lung microbial dysbiosis in mice

Rationale: Microplastics (MP) are the byproduct of disposal and breakdown of commercial plastics. MP are ubiquitous in the environment, and convincing data demonstrate that MP are present in a variety of animal and human tissue. Exogenous MP exposure in rodents results in insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. Intermittent hypoxia (IH) can be used to model obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and has similar dysglycemic effects. It is unknown whether acute IH can worsen the maladaptive effects of chronic MP exposure on glucose homeostasis. Methods: Twenty-four C57BL/6J mice, aged 8 weeks, were evenly divided into four groups (n=6/group, half male and half female). Group designations were as follows: Group 1 was exposed to normal water and intermittent air (IA-null); group 2 was exposed to normal water and IH (IH-null); group 3 was exposed to water containing polystyrene MP and intermittent air (IA-MP); and group 4 was exposed to water containing polystyrene microplastics and IH (IH-MP). Microplastic exposure was done by adding 1 µm fluorescently-labeled polystyrene microspheres (FluoSpheres, Thermo Fisher) to the available drinking water, 1.25 g/L, and based on typical water intake in C57BL/6J mice, resulted in each mouse drinking approximately 6-8 mg of MP per day. MP exposure was continued for 4 weeks in groups 3 and 4. Acute IA or IH exposure occurred on the final two days of the experiment (6 hours each day). IH exposure was as follows: FiO2 cycling between 0.21 and 0.06, once per minute. An intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed at the beginning and end of exposures. Results: Neither acute IH nor chronic MP exposure had any significant effect on body weight (p=0.915 for IH effect, p=858 for MP effect). Perigonadal fat mass was also similar among all groups, without effects of acute IH or chronic MP. Fasting glucose increased in IA-null (27.5 ± 5.7 mg/dL, p=0.005) and IH-null (17.7 ± 6.8 mg/dL, p=0.048) groups over the experiment duration, without significant effects in either MP exposed group. Both acute IH and chronic MP exposure worsened glucose tolerance (p<0.001 for each comparison), with an additive effect of the two exposures. Conclusions: Acute IH exposure worsens glucose intolerance induced by chronic MP ingestion. This finding is not driven solely by changes in body weight or body composition. OSA or other conditions causing acute IH (e.g., periodic breathing in acute high altitude exposure) may exacerbate deleterious metabolic effects of environmental MP.

Due to the copious disposal of plastics, marine ecosystems receive a large part of this waste. Microplastics (MPs) are solid particles smaller than 5 millimeters in size. Among the plastic polymers, polystyrene (PS) is one of the most commonly used and discarded. Due to its density being greater than that of water, it accumulates in marine sediments, potentially affecting benthic communities. This study investigated the ingestion of MP and their effect on the meiofauna community of a sandy beach. Meiofauna are an important trophic link between the basal and higher trophic levels of sedimentary food webs and may therefore be substantially involved in trophic transfer of MP and their associated compounds. We incubated microcosms without addition of MP (controls) and treatments contaminated with PS MP (1-µm) in marine sediments at three nominal concentrations (103, 105, 107particles/mL), for nine days, and sampled for meiofauna with collections every three days. At each sampling time, meiofauna were collected, quantified and identified to higher-taxon level, and ingestion of MP was quantified under an epifluorescence microscope. Except for Tardigrada, all meiofauna taxa (Nematoda, turbellarians, Copepoda, Nauplii, Acari and Gastrotricha) ingested MP. Absorption was strongly dose dependent, being highest at 107 particles/mL, very low at 105 particles/mL and non-demonstrable at 103 particles/mL. Nematodes accumulated MP mainly in the intestine; MP abundance in the intestine increased with increasing incubation time. The total meiofauna density and species richness were significantly lower at the lowest MP concentration, while at the highest concentration these parameters were very similar to the control. In contrast, Shannon-Wiener diversity and evenness were greater in treatments with low MP concentration. However, these results should be interpreted with caution because of the low meiofauna abundances at the lower two MP concentrations. At the highest MP concentration, abundance, taxonomic diversity and community structure of a beach meiofauna community were not significantly affected, suggesting that MP effects on meiofauna are at most subtle. However, lower MP concentrations did cause substantial declines in abundance and diversity, in line with previous studies at the population and community level. While we can only speculate on the underlying mechanism(s) of this counterintuitive response, results suggest that further research is needed to better understand MP effects on marine benthic communities.

The invention of Bakelite in 1907 marked the dawn of the synthetic polymer era, leading to exponential plastic production and widespread microplastic (MP) pollution. MPs (<5 mm) now permeate ecosystems and human tissues, and emerging evidence suggests that they may pose health risks ranging from reproductive to cardiovascular effects.This narrative review aims to connect the historical growth of plastic production, the environmental spread of micro- and nanoplastics, evidence on human health effects, the development of candidate safer polymers, and the main policy responses. The specific objective is to identify key points for prevention, gaps in the evidence base, and priorities for future research and policy intervention.A targeted literature search was conducted to identify studies on plastic production, micro- and nanoplastic pollution, human exposure and health effects, and policy responses. Literature was sourced from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles published between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2025, using combinations of the terms “microplastics,” “nanoplastics,” “plastic pollution,” “polymer production,” “human exposure,” “health effects,” and “policy responses.” Major reports from UNEP and WHO were also reviewed. Eligible were peer‑reviewed, English‑language articles reporting primary environmental or human health data, quantitative syntheses, or policy analysis relevant to human exposure/outcomes. We excluded non‑human studies without clear human relevance, conference abstracts, non‑English publications, and non‑seminal work before 2010. Screening yielded 250 records; 162 met criteria for narrative synthesis. Due to heterogeneity in designs, exposure metrics, and outcomes, no risk-of-bias assessment or meta-analysis was conducted. Quantitative findings are summarized descriptively with effect sizes and confidence intervals when available.Global plastic production increased from about 2 million metric tons in 1950 to more than 450 million metric tons by 2018, while only 9-20% of plastic waste underwent recycling. Most waste entered landfills, incinerators, or the environment. Mismanaged waste adds an estimated 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic to the oceans each year, where larger items fragment into MPs and nanoplastics that persist, accumulate across food webs, and carry co-pollutants. Human studies now detect these particles in blood, placenta, lung tissue, and atherosclerotic plaques, and one cohort reported higher rates of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death among patients whose carotid plaques contained MPs or nanoplastics. Additional evidence links exposure with endocrine disruption and reduced sperm quality, yet effect sizes vary, and most data remain observational, which underscores the need for longitudinal and mechanistic research that defines causal pathways from particle characteristics and dosimetry to specific health outcomes.The available evidence indicates that historical decisions about polymer design and plastic production now drive widespread micro- and nanoplastic exposure with plausible cardiovascular, endocrine, and reproductive consequences, although causal pathways remain incompletely defined. Coordinated action that aligns safer polymer design, exposure reduction, longitudinal health research, and binding international policy will be necessary to curb micro- and nanoplastic contamination and to protect human health.

Laboratory simulated aging methods, mechanisms and characteristic changes of microplastics: A review

Microplastics (MPs) have become increasingly serious global problems due to their wide distribution and complicated impacts on living organisms. To obtain a comprehensive overview of the latest research progress on MPs, we conducted a bibliometric analysis combined with a literature review. The results showed that the number of studies on MPs has grown exponentially since 2010. Recently, the hotspot on MPs has shifted to terrestrial ecosystems and biological health risks, including human health risks. In addition, the toxic effects, identification and quantification of MPs are relatively new research hotspots. We subsequently provide a review of MPs studies related to health risks to terrestrial higher mammals and, in particular, to humans, including detection methods and potential toxicities based on current studies. Currently, MPs have been found existing in human feces, blood, colon, placenta and lung, but it is still unclear whether this is associated with related systemic diseases. In vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that MPs cause intestinal toxicity, metabolic disruption, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity through oxidative stress, apoptosis and specific pathways, etc. Notably, in terms of combined effects with pollutants and neurotoxicity, the effects of MPs are still controversial. Future attention should be paid to the detection and quantification of MPs in human tissues, exploring the combined effects and related mechanisms of MPs with other pollutants and clarifying the association between MPs and the development of pre-existing diseases. Our work enhances further understanding of the potential health risks of MPs to terrestrial higher mammals.

Polyethylene microplastics reduce filtration and respiration rates in the Mediterranean sponge Petrosia ficiformis