Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
Division of Geochemistry, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA.
Curr Environ Health Rep. 2023 Jun;10(2):99-111. doi: 10.1007/s40572-023-00391-x. Epub 2023 Feb 27.
Despite increasing awareness of the ubiquity of microplastics (MPs) in our environments, little is known about their risk of developmental toxicity. Even less is known about the environmental distribution and associated toxicity of nanoplastics (NPs). Here, we review the current literature on the capacity for MPs and NPs to be transported across the placental barrier and the potential to exert toxicity on the developing fetus.
This review includes 11 research articles covering in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo models, and observational studies. The current literature confirms the placental translocation of MPs and NPs, depending on physicochemical properties such as size, charge, and chemical modification as well as protein corona formation. Specific transport mechanisms for translocation remain unclear. There is emerging evidence of placental and fetal toxicity due to plastic particles based on animal and in vitro studies. Nine out of eleven studies examined in this review found that plastic particles were capable of placental translocation. In the future, more studies are needed to confirm and quantify the existence of MPs and NPs in human placentas. Additionally, translocation of different plastic particle types and heterogenous mixtures across the placenta, exposure at different periods of gestation, and associations with adverse birth and other developmental outcomes should also be investigated.
目的综述：尽管人们越来越意识到微塑料（MPs）在环境中的普遍性，但对于其发育毒性风险却知之甚少。对于纳米塑料（NPs）的环境分布和相关毒性，人们了解得更少。在这里，我们回顾了关于 MPs 和 NPs 穿过胎盘屏障的能力以及对发育中胎儿产生毒性的潜力的现有文献。
最新发现：这篇综述包括 11 篇研究文章，涵盖了体外、体内和离体模型以及观察性研究。目前的文献证实了 MPs 和 NPs 的胎盘转移，这取决于物理化学性质，如大小、电荷和化学修饰以及蛋白质冠形成。特定的转运机制仍不清楚。基于动物和体外研究，有越来越多的证据表明塑料颗粒具有胎盘和胎儿毒性。本综述中检查的 11 项研究中有 9 项发现塑料颗粒能够穿过胎盘。未来，需要更多的研究来证实和量化人类胎盘中 MPs 和 NPs 的存在。此外，还应研究不同类型的塑料颗粒和异质混合物在胎盘内的转移、不同妊娠阶段的暴露以及与不良出生和其他发育结果的关联。
