Huang Zhuizui, Weng You, Shen Qichen, Zhao Yao, Luo Ting, Xiao Yingping, Yang Guiling, Jin Yuanxiang
College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, China.
College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, China; State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Agro-product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China.
Environ Pollut. 2023 Oct 15;335:122275. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122275. Epub 2023 Jul 31.
Microplastics (MPs) are widely distributed in the global environment, entering and accumulating in organisms in various ways and posing health threats. MPs can damage intestine; however, the mechanism by which MPs cause intestinal damage in rats is unclear. Here, rats were exposed to 50 nm PS-NPs or 5 μm PS-MPs for 4 weeks to evaluate the possible effects on intestinal barrier function and exosomal miRNAs expressions. The results showed that PS-NPs or PS-MPs disrupted the gut microbiota and affected gut barrier function at the biological level. In addition, PS-NPs and PS-MPs altered the composition of exosomal miRNAs in the intestinal and serum. Both PS-NPs and PS-MPs decreased the expression of miR-126a-3p in the intestinal and serum exosomes, which is an important signalling molecule involved in MPs induced gut barrier function disorder. More importantly, both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that miR-126a-3p was closely related to oxidative damage of intestinal cells through the PI3K-Akt pathway and eventually promote cell apoptosis by regulating the target gene of PIK3R2. Our study suggested that PS-NPs and PS-MPs could affect rat intestinal barrier function through an exosomal miRNA mediated pathway.
微塑料（MPs）广泛分布于全球环境中，以各种方式进入生物体并在其中积累，对健康构成威胁。微塑料会损害肠道；然而，微塑料在大鼠中导致肠道损伤的机制尚不清楚。在此，将大鼠暴露于50纳米的聚苯乙烯纳米颗粒（PS-NPs）或5微米的聚苯乙烯微塑料（PS-MPs）中4周，以评估其对肠道屏障功能和外泌体微小RNA（miRNAs）表达的可能影响。结果表明，PS-NPs或PS-MPs在生物学水平上破坏了肠道微生物群并影响肠道屏障功能。此外，PS-NPs和PS-MPs改变了肠道和血清中外泌体miRNAs的组成。PS-NPs和PS-MPs均降低了肠道和血清外泌体中miR-126a-3p的表达，miR-126a-3p是参与微塑料诱导的肠道屏障功能障碍的重要信号分子。更重要的是，体外和体内实验均表明，miR-126a-3p通过PI3K-Akt途径与肠道细胞的氧化损伤密切相关，并最终通过调节PIK3R2的靶基因促进细胞凋亡。我们的研究表明，PS-NPs和PS-MPs可通过外泌体miRNA介导的途径影响大鼠肠道屏障功能。
