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Microplastics predominantly accumulate in CD11b− macrophages of the liver and spleen without overt neutrophil activation
Original title: Microplastics predominantly accumulate in CD11b− macrophages of the liver and spleen without overt neutrophil activation
Summary
When researchers gave mice tiny plastic particles, very little actually crossed from the gut into the bloodstream—but when injected directly into the blood (mimicking what might happen if plastics do get in), the particles piled up mainly in the liver and spleen, organs that filter our blood. Specialized immune cells called macrophages cleaned up most of the plastic without triggering major inflammation, which is somewhat reassuring, but it also confirms that if microplastics do enter our bloodstream, these organs become long-term storage sites—something scientists need to study further to understand potential health effects.
Abstract To estimate the health effects of internal microplastics exposure, it is crucial to understand their dynamics and the effects on immune cells. To confirm that microplastics are transported from the intestinal lumen to the bloodstream, we fed mice 1 µm polystyrene (PS) spheres and analyzed the blood, mesenteric lymph node, spleen and liver. We found limited amounts of microplastics back in the draining lymph node only. To simulate the distribution of microplastics from human blood to distant organs, 1 µm PS microplastics were injected intravenously to identify accumulation points of microplastics in the body and to understand the response of the immune system. The plastics accumulated mostly in liver and spleen which are blood filtering organs. Phagocytes involved in filtering these microplastics in liver and spleen were mainly CD11b- macrophage populations. Neutrophils phagocytosed the second most microplastics, but showed only limited recruitment and activation. Our study shows microplastics accumulate in liver and spleen and that CD11b- macrophages are the predominant phagocyte involved.