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Intestinal barrier disruption by cadmium and microplastics: Mechanistic insights from integrated metabolomic and proteomic analysis in mice
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A mouse study found that combined exposure to cadmium (a toxic metal) and microplastics caused more severe intestinal damage than either pollutant alone. The co-exposure disrupted key metabolic pathways and compromised the gut barrier, potentially promoting cancer cell growth and invasion. Since both cadmium and microplastics are widespread environmental contaminants that humans encounter together, this research highlights the importance of studying how multiple pollutants interact to harm health.
The continuous accumulation of cadmium (Cd) and microplastics (MPs) in the environment, coupled with their increasing usage and insufficient recycling measures, has increasingly severe impacts on human health, particularly by disrupting the integrity of the intestinal barrier. To investigate the mechanisms underlying intestinal damage in mice exposed to Cd and MPs simultaneously, we conducted a study involving 60 male Kunming mice, aged 8 weeks. The mice were randomly assigned to three groups: the control group (administered 0.2 mL of saline), the Cd group (administered 0.2 mL of 5 mg/kg CdCl·2.5HO), and the mixed exposure group (administered 0.2 mL of a mixture containing 5 mg/kg CdCl·2.5HO and 1 mg/d MPs). After euthanizing the mice at day 43 via cervical dislocation, we performed histopathological sections of colon tissue, proteomics analysis, metabolomics analysis, and multi-omics integrated analysis. Our findings demonstrate that co-exposure to Cd and MPs disrupts the expression levels of key molecules including glutamate (Glu), transcription factor SP1 (SP1), and ATP-binding cassette sub-family G member 2 (ABCG2). This perturbation alters metabolic pathways such as choline metabolism and central carbon metabolism, ultimately compromising intestinal barrier integrity and promoting cancer cell proliferation and invasion.
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Mice exposed to both copper and microplastics together (a common combo, since copper pipes and plastic packaging both contaminate food and water) had more gut damage than mice exposed to either one alone — their intestinal lining weakened, "leaky gut" proteins dropped, and harmful gut bacteria increased while beneficial ones declined. This suggests that everyday combinations of environmental contaminants might harm gut health more than scientists get by studying pollutants one at a time, though more research is needed to confirm this applies to humans.
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