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The Potential Immunotoxicity Induced by Long‐Term Exposure to Polystyrene Nanoplastics in Rats
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Rats exposed to nanoplastics (tiny plastic particles) for three months showed weakened immune defenses and increased inflammation, along with damage to immune organs like the spleen and thymus. While this study was in rats, not humans, it raises concern about what long-term plastic exposure might do to our own immune systems.
ABSTRACT Nanoparticles can be categorized as ‘particulate xenobiotics’ as they are found in living organisms and can interact with the immune system. This study evaluated the potential for immunotoxicity induced by chronic exposure to polystyrene nanoparticles. The work examined specific innate immune cells related to cellular and humoral immunity. Rats were divided into four equal groups: control, rats administered polystyrene nanoparticles at a dose of 10 mg/kg b. wt. The rat group was given a dose of 20 mg/kg b. wt. A group was given a dose of 30 mg/kg b. wt., three times per week, for 3 months. The results of serum IFN‐γ and IL‐2 in exposed groups revealed a significant increase in the release of these proinflammatory substances compared with the control. The data on serum IgG revealed a significant decrease in concentration compared with the control. The immune marker of CD68 showed an increase in the brain, lung and liver. T‐lymphocyte markers CD4 + T and CD8 + T showed a significant decrease in lymphoid tissues after PNP exposure compared with controls. A progressive multi‐organ histopathological alteration across lymphoid organs, including the thymus, spleen, Peyer's patches and bone marrow, was observed. These findings collectively indicate a systemic disruption of immune architecture and function, affecting both central and peripheral immune compartments.
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Effect of Polystyrene Nanoplastic on Colon, Liver, and Spleen Histopathology of Rats (Rattus norvegicus L.)
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This study exposed rats to different concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics and examined the effects on their colon, liver, and spleen. The results showed tissue damage including inflammation and cell death in all three organs, with higher concentrations causing more severe effects. These findings suggest that nanoplastics small enough to enter the body can cause organ-level damage, raising concerns about long-term human exposure.
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This review synthesized research on how microplastic and nanoplastic exposure affects immune system function, finding evidence across multiple studies that these particles can modulate immune responses and trigger inflammatory pathways in exposed organisms. The authors highlight immune disruption as an emerging health concern from micro- and nanoplastic contamination.
Effects of Subchronic Exposure to Polystyrene Nanoplastics on the Mouse Intestine
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Scientists fed mice tiny plastic particles daily for two months and found real damage to the gut, especially in the lower intestine, including changes in immune response and the barrier that keeps things from leaking through intestinal walls. This is animal research, not proof of the same effect in humans, but it adds to concerns about how the nanoplastics found in everyday products might affect our digestive health over time.
Immunotoxicity by Microplastics
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This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics, after entering the body through the gut, lungs, or skin, can disrupt the immune system by triggering inflammation, causing oxidative stress (cellular damage from unstable molecules), and impairing immune cell function, while highlighting major gaps in our understanding of these long-term health effects.
Polystyrene Nanoplastics Disrupt Immune Cell Development and Suppress T Cell Activation via mTOR and ERK Signaling
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Scientists gave young mice water containing tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) for three weeks and found it disrupted their immune systems, shrinking immune cell numbers in the spleen and throwing off the balance of key immune cells that fight infections. It also weakened T cells, the immune system's frontline defenders, by interfering with internal cell signals they need to activate. While this study was done in mice, it raises real concerns about what the microplastics we're increasingly exposed to through food, water, and air might be doing to our own immune defenses.
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