Article
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Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Gut & Microbiome
Human Health Effects
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Toxicity of true-to-life microplastics to human iPSC-derived intestinal epithelia correlates to their protein corona composition
Journal of Hazardous Materials2025
6 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 63
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Hugo Brouwer,
Hugo Brouwer,
Hugo Brouwer,
Hugo Brouwer,
Hugo Brouwer,
Hugo Brouwer,
Hugo Brouwer,
Hugo Brouwer,
Hugo Brouwer,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Shuo Yang,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Mathias Busch,
Mathias Busch,
Mathias Busch,
Mathias Busch,
Hugo Brouwer,
Mathias Busch,
Mathias Busch,
Mathias Busch,
Mathias Busch,
Aliro Villacorta,
Hugo Brouwer,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Alba Hernández,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Aliro Villacorta,
Hugo Brouwer,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Hans Bouwmeester,
J.A. de Ferrer,
Shuo Yang,
Shuo Yang,
Aliro Villacorta,
Alba Hernández,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Aliro Villacorta,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Tom Venus
Germaine Aalderink,
Sjef Boeren,
Sjef Boeren,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Tom Venus,
Sjef Boeren,
Aliro Villacorta,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Irina Estrela‐Lopis,
Tom Venus,
Mathias Busch,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Mathias Busch,
Mathias Busch,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Tom Venus
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Germaine Aalderink,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Aliro Villacorta,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Aliro Villacorta,
Shuo Yang,
Alba Hernández,
Shuo Yang,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Tom Venus,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Tom Venus
J.A. de Ferrer,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Irina Estrela‐Lopis,
Alba Hernández,
Irina Estrela‐Lopis,
Irina Estrela‐Lopis,
Aliro Villacorta,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Tom Venus
Tom Venus,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Irina Estrela‐Lopis,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Sjef Boeren,
Sjef Boeren,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Hans Bouwmeester,
Alba Hernández,
Alba Hernández,
Tom Venus,
Aliro Villacorta,
Tom Venus,
Tom Venus
Tom Venus
Summary
Using a human intestinal cell model, researchers showed that real-world microplastics from common products (like PET bottles and PVC) damaged the gut lining, increased harmful reactive oxygen species, and triggered inflammatory immune responses. Importantly, the standard polystyrene microplastics commonly used in lab studies did not cause these effects, suggesting that most research may be underestimating the true danger of microplastics. The type of protein coating that forms on each plastic's surface in the body determines how toxic it is to the gut.
Humans are continually exposed to microplastics, now pervasive in the environment. The intestinal epithelium, as a primary barrier tissue, frequently faces high microplastic exposure, yet health implications remain elusive. Using an intestinal epithelial cell model derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells, we show intestinal toxicity upon exposure to true-to-life polyethylene terephthalate-TiO<sub>2</sub>, polypropylene-Talc, polyvinyl chloride and polyamide microplastics. These materials compromised barrier integrity, elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species and stimulated intestinal cytokine secretion. Epithelial perturbations were not observed upon exposure to polystyrene microplastics, which frequently serve as a proxy for product-derived microplastic exposure. Proteomics analysis identified unique protein corona compositions for each microplastic, which correlated with in vitro effects. For example, the abundance of biocorona proteins involved in inflammation strongly correlated to the degree of cytokine secretion. These findings underscore the need for routine availability of true-to-life microplastics and protein corona analysis in hazard assessment to enable safe-by-design plastic development.