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Polystyrene nanoplastics disrupt the intestinal microenvironment
Nanoplastics are a concern for health and safety. Here, the authors show polystyrene nanoplastics disrupt intestinal integrity and gut microbiota composition by altering microRNA expression in extracellular vesicles, highlight a potential pathway through which nanoplastic exposure affects gut health.
Microplastics (MP) and nanoplastics (NP), derived from the degradation of polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), have been shown to induce liver injury, hematopoietic damage, and testicular disorders in mammals by disrupting gut microbiota balance 1, 2, 3. This study also underscores the critical role of host-microbiota interactions mediated by EV, offering valuable insights into the risks of plastic debris and providing a foundation for future research into its impact on human and environmental health. Bacteria with NP uptake were sorted using flow cytometry (FACSAria IIIu, Becton Dickinson, Bergen County, NJ, USA), observed using fluorescence microscopy (FV3000, Olympus, Shinjuku city, Japan), and identified by 16S sequencing.
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