Huang Haipeng, Hou Jiaqi, Li Mingxiao, Wei Fangchao, Liao Yilie, Xi Beidou
State Key Laboratory of Environment Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China.
Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Sci Adv. 2025 Jan 24;11(4):eadr8243. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adr8243. Epub 2025 Jan 22.
Human health is being threatened by environmental microplastic (MP) pollution. MPs were detected in the bloodstream and multiple tissues of humans, disrupting the regular physiological processes of organs. Nanoscale plastics can breach the blood-brain barrier, leading to neurotoxic effects. How MPs cause brain functional irregularities remains unclear. This work uses high-depth imaging techniques to investigate the MPs within the brain in vivo. We show that circulating MPs are phagocytosed and lead these cells to obstruction in the capillaries of the brain cortex. These blockages as thrombus formation cause reduced blood flow and neurological abnormalities in mice. Our data reveal a mechanism by which MPs disrupt tissue function indirectly through regulation of cell obstruction and interference with local blood circulation, rather than direct tissue penetration. This revelation offers a lens through which to comprehend the toxicological implications of MPs that invade the bloodstream.
人类健康正受到环境微塑料（MP）污染的威胁。在人类的血液和多个组织中检测到了微塑料，它们干扰了器官的正常生理过程。纳米级塑料能够突破血脑屏障，导致神经毒性效应。微塑料如何引起大脑功能异常仍不清楚。这项研究使用高深度成像技术对活体大脑中的微塑料进行研究。我们发现循环微塑料会被吞噬，并导致这些细胞在大脑皮层的毛细血管中阻塞。这些阻塞如血栓形成会导致小鼠血流减少和神经异常。我们的数据揭示了一种机制，即微塑料通过调节细胞阻塞和干扰局部血液循环间接破坏组织功能，而非直接穿透组织。这一发现为理解侵入血液的微塑料的毒理学影响提供了一个视角。
