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Microplastics inhibit macrophage bioenergetics impairing homeostatic function and immune responsiveness
Summary
Scientists found that when tiny plastic particles from our environment get breathed into the lungs, they weaken the "cleanup crew" immune cells (called macrophages) that normally fight off germs and cancerous cells by sapping their energy production. This damage made it harder for these cells to detect threats and alert the rest of the immune system—suggesting that inhaled microplastics could quietly raise our risk of infections and disease over time, even without causing obvious inflammation. The good news: in lab tests, the researchers found the cell damage could potentially be reversed with existing drugs, pointing to possible future treatments.
Abstract Since the 1950s, micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) have become omnipresent, representing a novel environmental hazard which continually deposits in our airways. Pulmonary macrophages (pMacs) orchestrate the balance between inflammation and tolerance required for homeostasis of the lung and are among the first immune cells to encounter inhaled MNPs. Yet, how pMacs react to plastic deposition in the lung and implications for disease remain unknown. Here, we exposed mice in vivo , human precision-cut lung slices (hPCLS) ex vivo , and monocyte-derived macrophages and cell lines to polystyrene MNPs in vitro . MNP deposition in the lung and extrapulmonary tissues was determined over a 1-week period and pMacs from MNP-laden lungs isolated for RNA-sequencing. We compared the effects of MNPs or diesel exhaust particulate exposures on hPCLS viability and metabolism, monocyte-derived macrophage transcription, and macrophage mitochondrial function, inflammation, and antigen presentation. MNPs readily translocated the lung and were observed in all organs examined within 1-day. pMacs from MNP-exposed mice expressed transcriptional pathways associated with endocrine system disorders, tissue remodeling, and malignant disease. Macrophage phagocytosis was impaired through decreased mitochondrial function which could be rescued pharmacologically. MNPs inhibited the ability of macrophages to effectively present OVA-antigen preventing TCR-specific activation, an effect that could be restored by blocking PD-1/PD-L1. These findings indicate that MNPs impair macrophages via unique mechanisms linking phagocytic and bioenergetic dysfunction. Loss of antigen-presenting capabilities in MNP-laden macrophages may compromise immunosurveillance. As such, MNPs have the potential to increase susceptibility to lung disease independent of the conventional mechanisms of inflammation and oxidative stress. Clinical relevance Bioaccumulation of micro- and nanoplastics in macrophages impairs their ability to function as antigen-presenting cells increasing susceptibility to pathogenic and malignant disease. Pulmonary macrophages residing in micro- and nanoplastic laden lungs possess transcriptional profiles associated with endocrine system disorders, gastrointestinal disease, and cancers.