The potential effects of microplastic pollution on human digestive tract cells

Yuting Zhang; Shunlan Wang; Volovych Olga; Yijia Xue; Shuguo Lv; Xiaoping Diao; Yingai Zhang; Qian Han; Hailong Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132714

The potential effects of microplastic pollution on human digestive tract cells

Chemosphere. 2022 Mar;291(Pt 1):132714. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132714. Epub 2021 Oct 29.

Authors

Yuting Zhang¹, Shunlan Wang², Volovych Olga¹, Yijia Xue¹, Shuguo Lv³, Xiaoping Diao⁴, Yingai Zhang⁵, Qian Han⁶, Hailong Zhou⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of South China Sea Marine Resource Utilisation, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
² Central Laboratory, Affiliated Haikou Hospital of Xiangya Medical College, Central South University, Haikou, 570208, China.
³ Hainan Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Haikou, 571126, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of South China Sea Marine Resource Utilisation, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
⁵ Central Laboratory, Affiliated Haikou Hospital of Xiangya Medical College, Central South University, Haikou, 570208, China. Electronic address: yingai_zhang@126.com.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of South China Sea Marine Resource Utilisation, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; One Health Institute, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of South China Sea Marine Resource Utilisation, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; One Health Institute, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China. Electronic address: zhouhl@hainanu.edu.cn.

PMID: 34743871
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132714

Abstract

The level of environmental microplastics in the biosphere is constantly increasing. These environmental microplastics can enter the human body with food, be absorbed through the gut, and have negative effects on the organism health after its digestion. Four sizes (0.1, 0.5, 1, 5 μm) polystyrene microspheres (PS-MPs) and nanospheres (PS-NPs) were selected for this study. The effects of different sizes of polystyrene particles on human colonic epithelial cell CCD841CoN and small intestinal epithelial cell HIEC-6 within 24 h were explored. The uptake of PS-NPs was found to has more potential to enter cells than micro-sized polystyrene PS-MPs that was confirmed by fluorescence microscope, and the intake amount was proportional to the exposure time. PS-MPs had no significant effect on cell viability and apoptosis, but the group treated with high concentration showed low toxicity to oxidative stress level and mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, the membrane damage caused by PS-MPs was significantly higher than that of PS-NPs. This may be due to the large amount of polystyrene adhering to interstitial, which have a significant negative effect on the cell membrane functions. For the first time human intestinal normal cell lines were used to study the effect of microplastic pollution, which can provide some references for the influence of microplastics on human health in the future.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Cell viability; Microplastic; Oxidative stress; Polystyrene.

MeSH terms

Gastrointestinal Tract
Humans
Microplastics*
Oxidative Stress
Plastics / toxicity
Polystyrenes / toxicity
Water Pollutants, Chemical*

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Polystyrenes
Water Pollutants, Chemical