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Effects of co-exposure to microplastics and perfluorooctanoic acid on the Caco-2 cells
Summary
This study tested what happens when human intestinal cells are exposed to PET microplastics combined with PFOA, a persistent chemical pollutant often called a forever chemical. The combination was more toxic than either substance alone, causing greater cell damage and weakening the intestinal barrier that normally keeps harmful substances out of the bloodstream. The findings suggest that microplastics carrying adsorbed pollutants like PFOA could pose greater risks to gut health than microplastics by themselves.
As plastics are produced and used, humans are inevitably exposed to microplastics (MPs) on a daily basis. The pollution of MPs has aroused widespread human concern. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a persistent organic pollutant (POP), can be adsorbed by microplastics and may exacerbate human health hazards. In this study, we investigated the effects of co-exposure of PET MPs and PFOA on the human intestinal tract in terms of both cytotoxicity and intestinal barrier through in vitro experiments. The results showed that PFOA induced cellular oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction exerted cytotoxic effects, and inhibited tight junction (TJ) protein expression causing intestinal barrier damage. PET MPs can synergize with PFOA to exacerbate the deleterious effects on the intestinal tract by decreasing cell membrane permeability to increase PFOA accumulation in the cell and enhancing the ability of PFOA to inhibit zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) proteins.