Xia Sugan, Yan Chaoyue, Cai Guodong, Xu Qingyu, Zou Hui, Gu Jianhong, Yuan Yan, Liu Zongping, Bian Jianchun
College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China.
J Environ Sci (China). 2025 Sep;155:250-266. doi: 10.1016/j.jes.2024.11.022. Epub 2024 Nov 23.
As an emerging and potentially threatening pollutant, nanoplastics (NPs) have received considerable global attention. Due to their physical properties and diminutive size, NPs ingestion can more easily cross biological barriers and enter the human and animal body. Despite reports of hepatotoxicity associated with NPs, their impact and potential underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, we investigated the impact of NPs at concentrations found in the environment on the gut flora, intestinal barrier function, liver pyroptosis, and inflammation in mice following 12 weeks of exposure. To further validate the involvement of gut flora in inflammatory liver damage caused by NPs, we utilized antibiotics to remove the intestinal flora and performed fecal microbiota transplantation. We confirmed that NPs exposure altered the gut microbiota composition, with a notable rise in the proportions of Alloprevotella and Ileibacterium while causing a decrease in the relative proportions of Dubosiella. This disruption also affected the gut barrier, increasing lipopolysaccharides in circulation and promoting liver pyroptosis. Importantly, mice receiving fecal transplants from NPs-treated mice showed intestinal barrier damage, liver pyroptosis, and inflammation. However, NPs effects on the intestinal barrier and liver pyroptosis were attenuated by antibiotics depletion of the commensal microbiota. In summary, our current research revealed that extended exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of NPs resulted in inflammatory damage to the liver. Additionally, we have identified for the first time that imbalances in intestinal flora are crucial in liver pyroptosis induced by NPs.
作为一种新兴的潜在威胁污染物，纳米塑料（NPs）已受到全球广泛关注。由于其物理性质和微小尺寸，摄入纳米塑料更容易跨越生物屏障并进入人体和动物体内。尽管有报道称纳米塑料与肝毒性有关，但其影响和潜在的潜在机制仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们调查了环境中发现的纳米塑料浓度对小鼠肠道菌群、肠道屏障功能、肝脏细胞焦亡和炎症的影响，实验持续12周。为了进一步验证肠道菌群在纳米塑料引起的炎症性肝损伤中的作用，我们使用抗生素清除肠道菌群并进行粪便微生物群移植。我们证实，纳米塑料暴露改变了肠道微生物群组成，Alloprevotella和Ileibacterium的比例显著增加，而Dubosiella的相对比例下降。这种破坏还影响了肠道屏障，增加了循环中的脂多糖并促进了肝脏细胞焦亡。重要的是，接受纳米塑料处理小鼠粪便移植的小鼠表现出肠道屏障损伤、肝脏细胞焦亡和炎症。然而，抗生素清除共生微生物群减弱了纳米塑料对肠道屏障和肝脏细胞焦亡的影响。总之，我们目前的研究表明，长期暴露于环境相关浓度的纳米塑料会导致肝脏炎症性损伤。此外，我们首次发现肠道菌群失衡在纳米塑料诱导的肝脏细胞焦亡中起关键作用。
