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Microplastics and Nanoplastics as Emerging Contributors to Cardiovascular Disease: Mechanisms, Clinical Evidence, and Therapeutic Opportunities
Summary
Researchers reviewed clinical and mechanistic evidence linking microplastic and nanoplastic exposure to cardiovascular disease, noting that MNPs have been detected in arterial plaques and associated with higher rates of adverse cardiac events, and proposed interaction-based sequestration strategies and lipid nanoparticle therapeutics as potential mitigation avenues.
Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) are increasingly recognized as environmental contaminants with potential cardiovascular relevance. Recent studies have identified MNPs in human blood, arterial tissue, and atherosclerotic plaques, raising concern that chronic exposure may contribute to vascular injury and disease progression. Clinical evidence has reported associations between MNP-positive atherosclerotic plaques and higher observed rates of major adverse cardiovascular events. Building on research concepts initiated in April 2024 (with subsequent proposal activity in May 2024 and July 2024), this perspective reviews key mechanistic and human data relevant to cardiovascular risk. Nanoplastics are not simply smaller microplastics; their greater accessible surface area and higher interactive density may amplify biological reactivity in vascular systems. Interaction-mediated mitigation strategies that promote aggregation or sequestration without polymer degradation are proposed as biologically plausible complements to exposure reduction. Targeted lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds may represent a future therapeutic avenue for at-risk populations.