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Letter to the Editor: Microplastics as promoters of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Mechanistic insights and implications
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Tiny plastic particles found in our bodies—including the liver—may worsen fatty liver disease by disrupting how liver cells manage fat, handle stress, and clean out damaged parts, according to this commentary on existing lab and animal research. Since fatty liver disease is already the most common chronic liver condition worldwide and can lead to liver cancer, these findings raise concerns about how everyday plastic exposure might be affecting our health, though more human studies are needed to confirm the connection.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide and carries a substantial risk of progression to hepatocellular carcinoma. The detection of microplastics (MPs) in human tissues - including the brain, lung, liver, and blood - has emerged as an important environmental health concern. A recent study comprehensively summarized the potential mechanisms by which MPs may induce and exacerbate MASLD. The evidence discussed was largely derived from in vitro and preclinical studies and included hepatic lipid dysregulation, oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammatory signaling, fibrogenesis, gut dysbiosis, and endocrine disruption. This article comments on the study by Rajak et al , published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Hepatology , and specifically highlights how MPs-induced autophagy dysfunction may contribute to MASLD progression and its potential clinical implications.
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Nanoplastics and MASLD : Unveiling Interorgan Crosstalk and Environmental Modulators
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This brief editorial discusses the emerging connection between nanoplastic exposure and metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a condition involving fat buildup in the liver. It highlights how nanoplastics may act as environmental triggers that affect the liver through interactions with the gut and other organs. As MASLD rates rise globally, understanding whether plastic pollution contributes to liver disease is an important emerging area of research.
Microplastics and nanoplastics: Emerging drivers of hepatic pathogenesis and metabolic dysfunction
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This review examines emerging evidence linking micro- and nanoplastic exposure to liver disease, including metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Researchers found that these particles may contribute to liver damage through oxidative stress, inflammation, and disruption of metabolic pathways. The study highlights the need for further research into how environmental plastic contamination may be influencing the rising rates of liver disease worldwide.
Microplastics, nanoplastics and liver disease: an emerging health concern?
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Researchers reviewed emerging evidence that microplastics and nanoplastics accumulate in human liver tissue at increasing concentrations over the past decade, trigger oxidative stress, fibrogenesis, and inflammation in cell and animal models, and may carry microbial pathogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, introducing the concept of plastic-induced liver injury as a new focus for environmental hepatology.
Impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on liver health: Current understanding and future research directions
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This review summarizes what scientists know about how micro- and nanoplastics affect the liver, which is one of the first organs exposed because it processes everything absorbed from the gut. The particles trigger oxidative stress, disrupt energy metabolism, cause cell death, and promote inflammation, and may contribute to conditions like fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis. The paper also highlights how plastics can disturb the gut microbiome, which communicates with the liver through the gut-liver axis and may amplify liver damage.
Microplastics in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: An emerging threat to liver health
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This review examined emerging evidence linking microplastic exposure to the development and progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, formerly NAFLD). The authors found that microplastics detected in liver tissue can exacerbate hepatic inflammation, lipid accumulation, and oxidative stress through multiple mechanisms, adding a novel environmental risk factor to MASLD pathogenesis.
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