Microplastics (MPs) have become ubiquitous and humans are exposed daily to inhalation or ingestion of plastic microparticles. Studies performed using mainly spectroscopy or spectrometry-based techniques have shown astounding evidence for the presence of MPs in human tissues, organs and fluids. The placenta, meconium, breast milk, lung, intestine, liver, heart and cardiovascular system, blood, urine and cerebrovascular liquid are afflicted by MPs’ presence and deposition.
Author/Year | Type of Study | Conditioning Type and Time | Method Analysis | Results | Conclusion |
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Deng Y, 2017 [40] |
In vivo study: 75 five-week-old male mice | 2 types of PS microspheres (diameters 5 μm and 20 μm)
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Fluorescence spectroscopy |
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Effects on energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, oxidative stress and neurotoxic responses |
Wang YL, 2021 [41] |
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HK-2 cells 2 lm luorescent yellow-green PS-MPs at concentrations of 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, or 0:8 lg = mL for 120 min or at a concentration of 0:8 lg = mL for 0, 5, 10, 30 or 60 min |
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In vitro study: higher levels of mitochondrial ROS and the mitochondrial protein Bad. Higher ER stress and markers of inflammation. Cells exposed to PS-MPs had higher protein levels of LC3 and Beclin 1. PS-MPs also had changes in phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and protein kinase B (AKT)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (mTOR) signaling pathways. In vivo study: PS-MPs accumulated and the treated mice had more histopathological lesions in the kidneys and higher levels of ER stress, inflammatory markers and autophagy-related proteins in the kidneys after PS-MPs treatment |
Mitochondrial dysfunction, ER stress, inflammation and autophagy; long-term PS-MPs exposure may be a risk factor for kidney health |
Meng X, 2022 [42] |
In vivo study: 65 mice were weighed and randomly divided into five group | PS-NPs (50 nm) and PSMPs (300 nm, 600 nm and 4 μm) and deionized water by gavage; 24 h exposure |
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PS-NPs and PS-MPs bioaccumulated in the kidneys, and the aggregation PS-MPs exacerbated their biotoxicity; the PS-NPs and PS-MPs caused mice weight loss, increased their death rate, significantly alternated several biomarkers and resulted in histological damage of the kidney; PS-NPs- and PS-MPs- induced oxidative stress and inflammation |
Zou H, 2022 [47] |
In vivo study: mice | Mice were treated with Cadmium (50 mg/L) and/or 5 µm MPs (10 mg/L) for 90 days | Transmission electron microscopy
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Tubular injury
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MPs exacerbated Cd-induced kidney injury. MPs aggravated Cd-induced kidney injury by enhancing oxidative stress, autophagy, apoptosis and fibrosis |
Goodman KE, 2022 [44] |
In vitro study: Human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK 293) | HEK 293 treated with 5 and 100 μg/mL PS-MPs |
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Threse morphological, metabolic, proliferative changes and cellular stress, indicate the potential undesirable effects of MPs on human health |
Meng X, 2022 [43] |
In vivo study: 120 chicken (1-day-old randomly assigned to 4 groups. | PS-MPs (1, 10, 100 mg/L) for six weeks, with 1 mg/L |
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This study was the first to show that oral intake of PS-MPs induced inflammation and necroptosis in chicken kidney and the differences in damage were linked to the concentration of PS-MPs |
Chen YC, 2022 [45] |
In vitro study: human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK29) | The HEK293 cells were treated with PSMPs (3–300 ng/mL) for 24 h. |
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PSMPs can:
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These results demonstrated that environmental exposure to PSMPs may lead to an increased risk of renal disease |
Xiong XI, 2023 [48] |
In vivo study: C57Bl/6 J mice (3 weeks old; male) | H2O, 80 nm, 5 µm, and 0.5 µm groups according to the diameter of MPs. |
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These data provide new evidence and potential research for investigating the harm of MPs to kidney of mammals and even humans |
Sun x, 2023 [46] |
In vitro study: Human kidney embryonic cells (HEK29)
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4 groups: the control, DEHP, MPs, and DEHP + MPs group
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The combined exposure to DEHP and PS-MPs caused oxidative stress and activated the AMPK/ULK1 pathway, thereby inducing renal autophagy |
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/ijms241814391