School of Life Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
School of Life Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Sep 10;890:164297. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164297. Epub 2023 May 19.
Microplastic (MP) pollution has become a global environmental problem, with particular concerns for its harmful effects on human health. Several studies have demonstrated that MP can penetrate animals and humans resulting in tissue dysfunction, but their influences on metabolism remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the impact of MP exposure on metabolism and the results showed that different treatment doses produce a bidirectional modulatory effects on mice. When exposed to high concentrations of MP, mice lost significant weight, while those in the lowest concentration treatment group showed little change, but those treated at relatively low concentrations became overweight. There was excessive lipid accumulation in these heavier mice, with a better appetite and lower activity level. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that MPs increased fatty acid synthesis in the liver. In addition, the gut microbiota composition of the MPs-induced obese mice was remodeled, which would enhance the nutrient absorption capacity of the intestine. Our results uncovered an MP dose-dependent lipid metabolism in mice and a non-unidirectional model of the physiological responses to different MP concentrations was proposed. These results provided new insights into the seemingly contradictory effects of MP on metabolism in the previous study.
微塑料（MP）污染已成为全球性环境问题，尤其引起了人们对其对人类健康有害影响的关注。多项研究表明，MP 可以穿透动物和人体，导致组织功能障碍，但它们对新陈代谢的影响仍知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们研究了 MP 暴露对新陈代谢的影响，结果表明，不同的处理剂量对小鼠产生双向调节作用。当暴露于高浓度的 MP 时，小鼠体重显著减轻，而处于最低浓度处理组的小鼠几乎没有变化，但处于相对低浓度处理组的小鼠体重增加。这些体重增加的小鼠体内有过多的脂质堆积，表现出更好的食欲和更低的活动水平。转录组测序表明， MPs 增加了肝脏中的脂肪酸合成。此外，MP 诱导肥胖小鼠的肠道微生物群落组成发生了重塑，这将增强肠道的营养吸收能力。我们的研究结果揭示了 MP 在小鼠体内存在剂量依赖性的脂质代谢，提出了一个针对不同 MP 浓度的生理反应的非单向模型。这些结果为先前研究中 MP 对代谢的看似矛盾的影响提供了新的见解。
