The First Clinical College, China Medical University, 77 Puhe Avenue, Shenbei New District, Shenyang 110122, China.
Department of Tissue Engineering, School of Intelligent Medicine, China Medical University, 77 Puhe Avenue, Shenbei New District, Shenyang 110122, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2022 Mar 15;233:113342. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113342. Epub 2022 Feb 25.
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of co-exposure of iron and microplastics (MPs) on the cognitive function of aged humans and animals. It was already known that individual iron or MPs exposure can initiate potential neurotoxicity. However, the combined effect of MPs and iron remained to be elucidated. In this study, the toxicity of iron, MPs, co-treatment of MPs & iron, and the underlying mechanisms were evaluated in vivo. Our findings suggest that 5 µm MPs could enter the aging mice brain and accumulate in cortex and hippocampus. In addition, MPs and iron have a good binding ability, therefore, co-exposure of MPs & iron cause significant iron overload and cognitive deficits as compared to control and individual treatments of iron and MPs. Moreover, the lipid peroxidation and inflammation, which are involved in ferroptosis, get significantly elevated by co-exposure of iron and MPs. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that co-exposure of iron and MPs could aggravate the cognitive impairment via disturbing brain iron homeostasis and inducing ferroptosis in cognitive-related brain areas, what's more, the results warn that MPs may act as vectors of pollutants (mostly heavy metals) increasing the health burden on body.
本研究旨在探讨铁和微塑料（MPs）共同暴露对老年人和动物认知功能的影响。已知单独的铁或 MPs 暴露会引发潜在的神经毒性。然而， MPs 和铁的联合效应仍有待阐明。在这项研究中，在体内评估了铁、 MPs 、 MPs 和铁共同处理以及潜在机制的毒性。我们的研究结果表明，5µm MPs 可以进入衰老小鼠的大脑，并在皮质和海马中积累。此外， MPs 和铁具有良好的结合能力，因此，与对照组和铁和 MPs 的单独处理相比， MPs 和铁的共同暴露会导致明显的铁过载和认知缺陷。此外，涉及铁死亡的脂质过氧化和炎症显著升高。综上所述，我们的研究结果提供了令人信服的证据，表明铁和 MPs 的共同暴露可能通过扰乱大脑铁平衡和诱导与认知相关的大脑区域的铁死亡来加重认知障碍，更重要的是，研究结果警告说， MPs 可能作为污染物（主要是重金属）的载体，增加身体的健康负担。
