Category Archives: Microplastics & Environmental Health

Polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) are extensively present in the environment. Population studies have confirmed the presence of micro- and nanoplastics in human blood and placental tissues, and animal experiments found PS-NPs had potential developmental and reproductive toxicity. However, the continuous effects of prenatal PS-NPs exposure on testicular differentiation and development in offspring from embryo to adult are not clear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate potential toxicity of…

As a pervasive global environmental concern, micro- and nanoplastic (MNPs) pollution leads to widespread systemic human exposure via three main routes: oral ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that MNPs are strongly associated with ageing and age-related pathologies, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. Meanwhile, the gut microbiome, an intensely studied regulatory mediator, plays a critical role in modulating human ageing. This…

Nanoplastics have emerged as important environmental contaminants with potential risks to animal and human health; however, their effects on intestinal epithelial cells remain unclear. In this study, polystyrene nanoplastics (PS) were used to investigate cytotoxic mechanisms in porcine intestinal epithelial cells(IPI-2I). PS exposure was associated with oxidative stress, as evidenced by elevated reactive oxygen species levels, altered oxidative stress-related indicators, and mitochondrial…

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons and the aggregation of α-synuclein, with increasing evidence implicating environmental factors and neuroimmune dysfunction in its pathogenesis. Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), ubiquitous environmental pollutants generated from plastic degradation, have recently emerged as potential biological stressors capable of entering the human body and accumulating in sensitive tissues,…

CONCLUSION: Airborne MPs are a respiratory toxicant, but definitive causal evidence is constrained by a critical gap between experimental and environmentally relevant concentrations and a polymer-specific research bias. Future studies must prioritize environmentally relevant exposures, investigate high-risk polymers, and integrate exposomics with advanced toxicology.

Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) have become widespread contaminants with notable impacts on reproductive health. MNPs have been found in human specimens, including follicle fluid, causing concerns regarding their negative impact on female fertility. The present review aimed to comprehensively examine the ovarian deleterious impacts of MNPs, and to analyze their toxicological mechanisms, impact on folliculogenesis and oocyte quality, transgenerational effects and influencing factors….

Our daily and continuous exposure to airborne micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) together with the limited information on their potential hazards, warrants the need for more information on MNP-toxicity. In this study, we investigated the effects of diverse size ranges of amorphous MNPs from environmentally relevant polymers, on Air-Liquid-Interface (ALI)-cultured Normal Human Bronchial Epithelial cells (NHBEs) by analyzing immunological response parameters 24 h after exposure. In addition, we have…

CONCLUSION: The current evidence base supports aggressive exposure reduction as the most defensible “first-line” strategy. Nutritional approaches (dietary fiber, gut-barrier support, and microbiome modulation) are best framed as adjunctive, mechanistically plausible risk-mitigation strategies rather than proven methods to remove plastics from the body. Well-designed human trials and standardized analytical protocols are needed before clinical “detoxification” claims can be justified.

Macrophages are central to host immunity and tissue homeostasis, exhibiting remarkable functional plasticity across a continuum of states-ranging from pro-inflammatory (M1-like) to anti-inflammatory and tissue-reparative (M2-like) phenotypes. Environmental exposures can induce persistent epigenetic changes that shape macrophage responses well beyond the acute phase, a phenomenon now recognized as trained immunity. This narrative review synthesizes current knowledge on how diverse components of…

Micro- and nanoplastics have been shown to cross biological barriers, reach the female reproductive tract, and infiltrate ovarian tissue, raising critical concerns about their potential impact on reproductive health and early-life outcomes. Elucidating how nanoplastics interact with ovarian cells is therefore essential for risk assessment, but requires ultra-sensitive analytical approaches capable of resolving rare events at the nanoscale. Detecting individual polymeric nanoplastics within…