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Cross-Organ Toxicity and Metabolic Responses to Food Chain-Transferred Nanoplastics: Mechanistic Insights from a Multiomics Perspective
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Scientists tracked tiny plastic particles as they moved up the food chain—from plastic to worms to mice—and found the plastics built up throughout the body, affecting the heart and disrupting how the body processes fat and manages inflammation. The liver seemed to act as a control center, spreading these effects to other organs. This matters because it shows plastic pollution could pose real risks to our health through the food we eat, not just where the plastic ends up in the environment—though more research is needed to know what this means for long-term human health.
Against the backdrop of escalating global plastic pollution, there is an urgent need to elucidate the systemic health risks posed by nanoplastics (NPs) as emerging environmental contaminants that enter higher organisms through the food chain. This study employed a three-level trophic transfer model, examining the pathway from polystyrene nanoparticles to Tenebrio molitor larvae and subsequently to mice, offering a comprehensive elucidation of the mechanisms behind the multiorgan toxicity associated with food chain-transferred nanoplastics (FCT-NPs). Our results demonstrated extensive accumulation of FCT-NPs across multiple organs via systemic circulation. Integrative multiorgan omics analysis revealed that FCT-NPs primarily induced two major categories of multiorgan comorbidities: cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders, with the liver identified as a central metabolic hub that potentially regulates other organs through bile acid-mediated metabolic crosstalk. Mechanistically, dysregulation of key genes, such as MTOR and FN1, activated Wnt and TGF-β signaling pathways, which in turn promoted organ fibrosis. Additionally, aberrant expression of critical regulators─including CAT, LPL, NQO1, and APOE ─was found to drive oxidative stress and disrupt lipid metabolism. These findings provide crucial scientific evidence for FCT-NPs risk assessment and underscore the imperative for enhanced plastic pollution control and further investigation into long-term exposure effects.
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Cross-organ multilayered biological perturbations driven by food chain-transferred microplastics: implications for mammalian health effects and risks
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Mice were fed mealworms that had been exposed to polystyrene microplastics, modeling how plastics move through a food chain. Researchers found microplastics accumulated across six organs, with changes in genes linked to oxidative stress, immune response, tissue scarring, and metabolism, forming a connected pattern of effects across organs rather than damage limited to one organ.
Micro- and nanoplastics disrupt the gut–liver–brain axis: mechanisms of multi-organ toxicity in animal models
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This review pulls together animal research showing that tiny plastic particles (micro- and nanoplastics) don't just pass through your body harmlessly—they can damage the gut lining, throw off gut bacteria, and trigger inflammation that spreads to the liver and even the brain. The smallest particles (nanoplastics) seem especially good at slipping past the body's protective barriers, raising concern about their effects on human health. Since this is based on animal studies so far, more research is needed to confirm how directly these findings apply to people, but it strengthens the case that everyday plastic exposure deserves closer attention.
Micro- and Nanoplastics as Disruptors of Digestive and Hepatopancreatic Homeostasis: Insights into the Plastic-Gut-Liver Axis
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Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics disrupt the gut-liver axis by compromising intestinal barrier integrity, promoting microbiota dysbiosis, and enabling microbial translocation via portal circulation that triggers hepatic inflammation, metabolic reprogramming, and potential carcinogenic processes, while also noting emerging evidence of pancreatic and multi-organ involvement.
In Vivo Tissue Distribution of Microplastics and Systemic Metabolomic Alterations After Gastrointestinal Exposure
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Researchers fed mice a mixture of common microplastics and then tracked where the particles ended up in the body and how they affected metabolism. They found that ingested microplastics crossed the gut barrier and accumulated in the liver, kidneys, and other tissues, causing measurable changes in metabolic pathways. The study provides evidence that microplastic exposure through the digestive system can lead to widespread tissue distribution and systemic metabolic disruption in mammals.
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.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.