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Microplastic pollution inhibits the phagocytosis of E. coli by earthworm immune cells in soil
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Researchers discovered that polystyrene microplastics inhibit the ability of earthworm immune cells to engulf bacteria through phagocytosis, both in laboratory tests and in soil experiments. The microplastics also caused mitochondrial damage in intestinal tissue and suppressed oxidative stress responses in immune cells. This is the first study to demonstrate that microplastic pollution in soil can compromise the immune defenses of earthworms, key organisms in soil ecosystem health.
It has not been known how immune responses in soil invertebrates occur against microplastics (MPs). This study aims to investigate the effects of MPs on endocytosis, including phagocytosis and pinocytosis, of immune cells of soil invertebrates in the soil ecosystem in the process of bacterial infection. We employed polystyrene microplastics (∼ 1 μm PS MPs) to treat earthworm Eisenia andrei during the infection of Escherichia coli for in vitro (1, 5, 10, and 50 mg/L) and in vivo (1, 10, and 1000 mg/kg dry soil) assays. The results of in vitro migration assay revealed that MPs caused inhibitory effects on the phagocytosis, pinocytosis and oxidative stress in coelomocytes. Soil bioassay also confirmed that endocytosis of coelomocytes and mitochondrial damages in the intestinal epithelium were significantly altered in the polluted soil with MPs. Thus, MPs induced adverse effects to inhibit bacterial endocytosis, which may disturb the immune system of soil invertebrates. This study is the first report on the inhibition of phagocytosis in the soil invertebrates by MPs. These findings contribute to understanding the response of soil invertebrates, which play important roles in the soil food web with cellular level towards microplastic pollution in soil.
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Researchers exposed earthworms to two sizes of polystyrene microplastics in soil for 14 days and found evidence of intestinal cell damage, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. The larger particles accumulated more in earthworm intestines, while both sizes triggered changes in key antioxidant markers. The study demonstrates that microplastic contamination in soil can cause measurable biological harm to important soil organisms.
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Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics affect earthworm immune cells and found that exposure caused significant oxidative stress, DNA damage, and weakened immune function. The nanoplastics physically bound to and damaged lysozyme, a key immune protein, impairing the earthworms' ability to fight off infections. Since earthworms are essential soil organisms, this immune damage could have cascading effects on soil health and the agricultural systems that humans depend on.
Polystyrene Nanoplastics Elicit Multiple Responses in Immune Cells of the Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826)
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This study examined how nanoplastics from polystyrene affect the immune cells of earthworms, which play a critical role in soil ecosystems. Researchers found that the tiny plastic particles were taken up by the cells, triggered oxidative stress, weakened antioxidant defenses, destabilized cell membranes, and initiated early-stage cell death. The results provide cellular-level evidence that nanoplastic exposure poses ecological risks to soil-dwelling organisms.
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Tiny plastic particles from pollution build up in the soil around earthworm burrows and guts, disrupting the good bacteria that keep soil healthy and making it harder for soil to hold onto nitrogen — a key nutrient for growing food. This matters because earthworms are essential for healthy soil that our crops depend on, and this research shows microplastics can quietly damage that system by harming earthworms' immune systems and digestion in ways that ripple through the food chain.
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Researchers exposed earthworms to polystyrene microplastics in agricultural soil at various concentrations. The study found that low concentrations had little effect, but high concentrations (1% and above) significantly inhibited growth and increased mortality, suggesting microplastic pollution poses ecological risks to soil organisms in terrestrial ecosystems.
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