Tropical Crop Genetic Resource Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571101, China.
College of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou 571101, China.
J Agric Food Chem. 2024 Jul 31;72(30):16638-16650. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c03238. Epub 2024 Jul 16.
Due to the immature intestinal digestion, immunity, and barrier functions, weaned infants are more susceptible to pathogens and develop diarrhea. Microplastics (MPs), pervasive contaminants in food, water, and air, have unknown effects on the intestinal development of weaned infants. This study explored the impact of polystyrene MPs on intestinal development using a weaned piglet model. Piglets in the control group received a basal diet, and those in the experimental groups received a basal diet contaminated with 150 mg/kg polystyrene MPs. The results showed that exposure to polystyrene MPs increased the diarrhea incidence and impaired the intestinal barrier function of weaned piglets. Notably, the exposure led to oxidative stress and inflammation in the intestine. Furthermore, polystyrene MPs-treated weaned piglets showed a reduced level of intestinal angiogenesis. Mechanistically, polystyrene MPs suppressed methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) expression by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, consequently destabilizing angiogenic factors' mRNA and hindering intestinal angiogenesis. In summary, polystyrene MPs contamination in the diet increases diarrhea and compromises intestinal angiogenesis through the ROS/METTL3 pathway, demonstrating their toxic effects on the intestine health of weaned infants.
由于肠道消化、免疫和屏障功能尚未成熟，断奶婴儿更容易受到病原体的侵袭，从而发生腹泻。微塑料（MPs）是食品、水和空气中普遍存在的污染物，其对断奶婴儿肠道发育的影响尚不清楚。本研究使用断奶仔猪模型探讨了聚苯乙烯 MPs 对肠道发育的影响。对照组仔猪接受基础日粮，实验组仔猪接受基础日粮中添加 150mg/kg 聚苯乙烯 MPs 的日粮。结果表明，暴露于聚苯乙烯 MPs 会增加断奶仔猪的腹泻发生率，并损害其肠道屏障功能。值得注意的是，暴露会导致肠道氧化应激和炎症。此外，暴露于聚苯乙烯 MPs 的断奶仔猪表现出肠道血管生成水平降低。在机制上，聚苯乙烯 MPs 通过增加活性氧（ROS）的产生来抑制甲基转移酶样 3（METTL3）的表达，从而破坏血管生成因子的 mRNA 稳定性，并阻碍肠道血管生成。综上所述，饮食中聚苯乙烯 MPs 的污染通过 ROS/METTL3 途径增加腹泻并损害肠道血管生成，表明其对断奶婴儿肠道健康具有毒性作用。
