Chronic exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics induces intestinal mechanical and immune barrier dysfunction in mice

作者：Lan Li, Xin Lv, Jing He, Lianshuang Zhang, Boqing Li, Xiaolin Zhang, Sisi Liu, Ying Zhang · 发表于：Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115749 · 被引用次数：75 · 研究领域：Microplastics and Plastic Pollution、biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties、Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications

Micro(nano)plastics are prevalent in the environment, and prolonged exposure to them represents a threat to human health. The goal of this study is to assess the health risk of long-term exposure to nanoplastics (NPs) at environmental concentrations on the intestinal mechanical and immune barrier in mice. In this study, mice were provided drinking water containing polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs; 0.1, 1, and 10 mg·L−1) for 32 consecutive weeks. The levels of endocytosis proteins caveolin and clathrin and of tight junctional proteins claudin-1, occludin, and ZO-1, and morphological changes, proportion of lymphocytes B in MLNs and lymphocytes T in IELs and LPLs were determined by immunohistochemistry, hematoxylin–eosin, and flow cytometry assays in the intestinal tissues of mice at 28 weeks. The activities or concentrations of ROS, SOD, MDA, and GSH-Px and inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) in the intestinal tissues of mice were measured by ELISA at 12, 16, 20, 24, and 32 weeks. Compared with the control group, oral ingested PS-NPs entered the intestinal tissues of mice and upregulated expression levels of the clathrin and caveolin. The intestinal tissue structure of mice in the PS-NPs (1 and 10 mg·L−1) exposure groups showed significant abnormalities, such as villus erosion, decreased of crypts numbers and large infiltration of inflammatory cells. Exposure to 0.1 mg·L−1 PS-NPs decreased occludin protein levels, but not claudin-1 and ZO-1 levels. The levels of these three ti...