Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
State Key Laboratory of Environment Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2024 Nov 1;286:117217. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.117217. Epub 2024 Oct 22.
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, posing a substantial threat to human well-being. Microplastics (MPs) exposure can harm human health and the carcinogenicity of MP remains uncertain. In this study, we investigated carcinogenesis by MPs exposure. We observed MP significantly exacerbated hepatic injury in infectious conditions. In addition, cancer-related p53 and p21 signals are activated by MPs. Analysis of the liver transcriptomic landscape uncovered a noteworthy intensification of the carcinogenesis pathway by MPs compared with pre-infection. The transcription factor SALL2 could act as an oncogenic promoter in the promotion of cancer regulated by MPs. Further, big data analysis presents the correlation between MPs pollution and human hepatocellular carcinoma. This work revealed a toxic amplification effect of the non-bioactive MPs on the bioactive pathogens. This finding provides new insight into understanding the potential toxicity of the MPs.
癌症是全球主要死因之一，对人类健康构成重大威胁。微塑料（MPs）暴露会危害人类健康，其致癌性尚不确定。在这项研究中，我们研究了 MPs 暴露引起的致癌作用。我们观察到 MPs 在感染情况下显著加重了肝损伤。此外，MPs 激活了与癌症相关的 p53 和 p21 信号。对肝转录组景观的分析表明，与感染前相比， MPs 显著增强了致癌途径。转录因子 SALL2 可作为 MPs 调节的致癌促进子中的癌基因启动子。此外，大数据分析呈现了 MPs 污染与人类肝细胞癌之间的相关性。这项工作揭示了非生物活性 MPs 对生物活性病原体的毒性放大效应。这一发现为理解 MPs 的潜在毒性提供了新的见解。
