Micro- and Nanoplastics as Emerging Drivers of Liver Injury: Exposure, Evidence, and Mechanisms

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are emerging environmental contaminants of increasing relevance to human health. Growing evidence suggests that, following ingestion, inhalation, or, less convincingly, dermal exposure, MNPs may cross biological barriers, enter lymphatic and vascular compartments, and reach the liver. Owing to portal blood flow, sinusoidal architecture and Kupffer cell activity, the liver appears to be one of the principal sites of early particle sequestration. Human biomonitoring,…

Dietary Intake of Micro- and Nanoplastics: Potential Adverse GI Effects on Microbiome, Inflammation, and Neoplasia

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are pervasive in food-contact environments and the human diet, positioning the gastrointestinal (GI) tract as the primary portal of entry and a plausible site of early biological effects. Human exposure is supported by detection of microplastics in stool and colon tissue, and emerging clinical studies report associations between fecal microplastic burden and GI disease states, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC). Preclinical…

Micro- and Nanoplastics as Potential Drivers of Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a leading cause of heart failure, but up to 50% of cases have no definitive etiology. Genetic susceptibility alone does not account for phenotypic inconsistency, so a ‘two-hit’ model has been proposed to explore the spectrum of gene-environment interactions. Certain triggers, such as alcohol, chemotherapy agents, and viral myocarditis, are well-established second hits in the pathogenesis of DCM. The exposome, which encompasses environmental and social exposures…

Detection and release characterization of micro-nanoplastics from kitchen plastic products: A review

Kitchen-derived micro-nanoplastics (M/NPs) have emerged as a potential source of human dietary M/NP exposure, yet their release mechanisms, particle characterization, and associated health risks remain poorly understood. This review systematically summarizes the current research on household kitchen plastic products, categorizing them into cooking auxiliaries, cleaning products, food containers, and others. Among them, plastic food containers are the primary contributors to kitchen-derived M/NP…

Polystyrene nanoplastics induce size-associated oxidative-inflammatory stress, hepatic insulin-signaling impairment and metabolic disturbances in normal and diabetic mice

CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that PS-NPs may act as metabolic stressors under the present experimental conditions, with their effects influenced by particle size and host metabolic background. By integrating classical toxicological methods with exploratory computational modeling, our findings provide mechanistic clues and preliminary data-driven evidence that PS-NP exposure may be associated with hepatic insulin-signaling impairment and metabolic disturbance, underscoring the need to assess…

Nano-plastic contamination in soil: impacts on rhizosphere volatile organic compound (VOC) signaling and rice disease susceptibility-a comprehensive review

Polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics (PVC-NPs) are emerging pollutants that pose a significant threat to agricultural soils, where they may disrupt rhizosphere volatile organic compound (VOC) signaling and intensify rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae. The widespread use of PVC-NPs may result in their accumulation in rice-cultivated soils, where their physicochemical properties interfere with and adversely affect the soil microbial communities and root physiology. Evidence from recent…

Enzyme-functionalized electrochemical sensor for unified quantification of multiple bioabsorbable nanoplastic types in human urine

Nanoplastics pose emerging health risk, yet no existing analytical method can quantitatively detect sub‑300 nm nanoplastics in human urine, mainly due to insufficient sensitivity and polymer-dependent limitations. Here, we report a catalase (CAT)‑based electrochemical sensing platform that enables the first quantitative detection of sub‑300 nm nanoplastics in human urine. The sensor leverages a nanoplastic‑induced structural perturbation mechanism, in which hydrophobic‑dominant and…

Mitochondria at the crossroad: Mechanisms of nanoplastic-induced neurotoxicity and brain accumulation

Widespread environmental contamination with nanoplastics (NPs) poses a significant risk to human health, particularly their accumulation in the central nervous system (CNS). This review examines how NPs can breach biological barriers, including the blood-brain barrier (BBB), olfactory system, and gut-brain axis, to access the brain. After their uptake by neurons through endocytosis, NPs primarily accumulate in the mitochondria, triggering cascades of neurotoxic changes in the brain. Existing…

Neuroactive steroids as targets of micro- and nano-plastics: Putative impact on brain function and disease

Among environmental pollutants, microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) represent a major threat to marine and terrestrial ecosystems because of their widespread distribution, environmental persistence, accumulation in animal and human organs, and toxicity. MPs and NPs target the major endocrine components, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and gonadal (HPG) axes, thus affecting steroid milieu with repercussions for peripheral endocrine glands and brain functions. Steroid…

Long-term polystyrene nanoplastics exposure aggravates retinal inflammation and photoreceptor degeneration through microglial SPP1 signaling and neutrophil extracellular traps formation

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated that PS-NPs exposure aggravated retinal inflammation and photoreceptor degeneration by microglial SPP1 signaling activation and NETs formation, underscoring new insights into the effects and potential targets of MNPs exposure on retinal disorders.