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Cationic Nanoplastics Assemble Lipid A Coronas That Alter TLR4 Signaling and Impair Endotoxin Tolerance
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Tiny plastic particles with a positive charge can stick to harmful bacterial toxins in our bodies and prevent our immune system from recognizing them, which weakens our body's ability to build protection against future infections. This matters because microplastics are everywhere in our environment, and this research shows they might interfere with important immune system processes, especially our natural defense training that happens after exposure to bacteria. Scientists found this effect was strongest with fresh plastics but decreased when plastics broke down from sunlight or mixed with proteins in the digestive system, suggesting the risk may depend on the type and condition of plastic we're exposed to.
Micro- and nanoplastics are pervasive, yet their capacity to modify host recognition of microbial ligands remains incompletely understood. Here we show that amine-functionalized polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NH 2 ) act as a chemically defined cationic endmember that sequesters lipid A, assembling compact lipopolysaccharide (LPS) coronas that reduce productive engagement of the TLR4-MD-2 complex. Biophysical readouts (DLS, zeta potential, TEM, and UV–vis) and all-atom molecular dynamics support tight coronas driven by cooperative hydrophobic insertion and hydrogen bonding. Functionally, coexposure attenuates MyD88-NF-kB and TRIF-IRF3 signaling in primary human monocytes and in vivo suppresses acute cytokine output and impairs the establishment of endotoxin tolerance during conditioning. In proof-of-principle in vivo conditioning models, PS-NH 2 counteracts LPS-mediated protective effects in type-1 diabetes and house-dust-mite allergy settings. These effects are strongest for the fresh, strongly cationic particle state, are attenuated by UV weathering and gastrointestinal protein-corona formation, and vary with LPS source, particle size, and particle-to-LPS ratio. Together, these findings identify a corona-mediated route by which a defined nanoplastic surface state can alter microbial recognition under controlled coexposure conditions.
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Nanoplastics fate under pollutant adsorption and corona modulation mapped by cryo-3D-SIM and cryo-SXT
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles become more toxic to immune cells when they pick up common pollutants from the environment—but interestingly, when these particles get coated with proteins (similar to what happens naturally in our blood and body fluids), that toxicity drops. This matters because it shows that a plastic particle's danger isn't fixed—it changes based on what it picks up along the way and how our body responds to it, which is important for understanding the real-world health risks of microplastic exposure through breathing and eating.
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Scientists tested how tiny plastic particles (micro- and nanoplastics) affect the helpful bacteria used in wastewater treatment plants to remove pollution, and found that plastics with a positively-charged coating caused the most damage, disrupting bacterial function in ways the system couldn't fully recover from even after the plastic exposure stopped. This matters because these bacteria play a key role in cleaning our wastewater, and if microplastics are quietly harming the treatment process, it could mean less effective pollution removal — a reminder that plastic pollution's effects ripple beyond the environment into the infrastructure that ke
Characteristics of protein corona formation on the surface of micro- and nanoplastics and their effects on cellular uptake and transport
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When tiny plastic particles get into our bodies, blood proteins quickly coat their surface, and this coating changes how the particles behave. This study found that the plastic's size and electrical charge affect how much protein sticks to it, which in turn influences whether cells absorb the particles and how much damage they might cause. Notably, positively charged plastic particles were more toxic and better at slipping past the body's protective barriers, suggesting that not all microplastics pose equal risk.
Distinct lipid membrane interaction and uptake of differentially charged nanoplastics in bacteria
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Researchers studied how nanoplastics with different surface charges interact with bacterial cell membranes, finding that positively charged particles penetrate bacteria far more effectively than neutral or negatively charged ones. The positively charged nanoplastics caused more cellular stress by generating reactive oxygen species and damaged cell structures differently depending on the bacterial type. These findings are important for understanding how nanoplastics may affect both environmental bacteria and the human microbiome.
Association between Microorganisms and Microplastics: How Does It Change the Host–Pathogen Interaction and Subsequent Immune Response?
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This review explores how microplastics act as surfaces where bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms can attach and change their properties. When germs hitchhike on microplastic particles, their physical and chemical traits can shift, potentially tricking or overwhelming the immune system in new ways. The findings suggest that microplastic-associated pathogens could pose unexpected risks to human health by triggering abnormal immune responses.
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