Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1286- INFINITE - Institute for Translational Research in Inflammation, F-59000, Lille, France.
ANSES - Laboratoire de Sécurité des Aliments, 6 Boulevard Du Bassin Napoléon, 62200, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.
Environ Res. 2022 Sep;212(Pt B):113230. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113230. Epub 2022 Apr 7.
The ubiquitous and growing presence of microplastics (MPs) in all compartments of the environment raises concerns about their possible harmful effects on human health. Human exposure to MPs occurs largely through ingestion. Polyethylene (PE) is widely employed for reusable bags and food packaging and found to be present in drinking water and food. It is also one of the major polymers detected in human stool. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of intestinal exposure to PE MPs on gut homeostasis. Mice were orally exposed for 6 weeks to PE microbeads of 2 different sizes, 36 and 116 μm, that correspond to those found in human stool. They were administrated either individually or as a mixture at a dose of 100 μg/g of food. Both PE microbead sizes were detected in mouse stool. Different parameters related to major intestinal functions were compared between control mice, mice exposed to each type of microbead, or co-exposed to the 2 types of microbeads. Intestinal disturbances were observed after individual exposure to each size of PE microbead, and the most marked deleterious effects were found in co-exposed mice. At the histomorphological level, crypt depth was increased throughout the intestinal tissues. Significant variations of gene expression related to epithelial, permeability, and inflammatory biomarkers were quantified. Defective recruitment of some intestinal immune cells was observed from the proximal portion of the small intestine to the colon. Several bacterial taxa at the order level were found to be affected by exposure to the MPs by metagenomic analysis of cecal microbiota. These results show that ingestion of PE microbeads induces significant alterations of crucial intestinal markers in mice and underscores the need to further study the health impact of MP exposure in humans.
微塑料(MPs)无处不在且不断增加,存在于环境的各个部分,这引起了人们对其可能对人类健康造成危害的关注。人类主要通过摄入途径接触 MPs。聚乙烯(PE)广泛用于可重复使用的袋子和食品包装,在饮用水和食物中也有发现。它也是在人类粪便中检测到的主要聚合物之一。本研究旨在表征肠道暴露于 PE MPs 对肠道内稳态的影响。小鼠经口暴露于 2 种不同大小(36 和 116 μm)的 PE 微珠 6 周,这与在人类粪便中发现的微珠大小相对应。它们以 100 μg/g 食物的剂量单独或混合给予。在小鼠粪便中均检测到这 2 种 PE 微珠大小。在对照组小鼠、暴露于每种微珠的小鼠或同时暴露于 2 种微珠的小鼠之间,比较了与主要肠道功能相关的不同参数。单独暴露于每种 PE 微珠大小后观察到肠道紊乱,并且在共同暴露的小鼠中发现最明显的有害影响。在组织形态学水平上,整个肠道组织的隐窝深度增加。定量分析了与上皮、通透性和炎症生物标志物相关的基因表达的显著变化。从小肠近端到结肠观察到一些肠道免疫细胞的募集缺陷。通过对盲肠微生物组的宏基因组分析,发现某些细菌分类群在科水平上受到 MPs 暴露的影响。这些结果表明,PE 微珠的摄入会导致小鼠关键肠道标志物发生显著变化,强调需要进一步研究人类 MP 暴露对健康的影响。
Nat Rev Nephrol. 2025-6-19