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Toxicity of polyethylene terephthalate and polylactic acid nanoplastics, pristine and weathered in environmentally-relevant conditions, to human intestinal cells representative of genetic susceptibility to Crohn's disease

Food and Chemical Toxicology 2026 Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Vérane Bard, Vérane Bard, Aliro Villacorta, Vérane Bard, Aliro Villacorta, Vérane Bard, Aliro Villacorta, Vérane Bard, Aliro Villacorta, Vérane Bard, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Margaux Papin, Vérane Bard, Aliro Villacorta, Vérane Bard, Margaux Papin, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Maeva Boulée, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Aliro Villacorta, Ricard Marcos, Maeva Boulée, Aliro Villacorta, Daphna Fenel, Marion Berenguer, Vérane Bard, Alba Hernández, Daphna Fenel, Marion Berenguer, Vérane Bard, Ricard Marcos, Aliro Villacorta, Alba Hernández, Alba Hernández, Alba Hernández, Jacques‐Aurélien Sergent, Marie Carriere Marie Carriere Ricard Marcos, Aliro Villacorta, Daphna Fenel, Daphna Fenel, Emma Dusacq, Emma Dusacq, Aliro Villacorta, Ricard Marcos, Ricard Marcos, Alba Hernández, Alba Hernández, Jacques‐Aurélien Sergent, Thierry Douki, Thierry Douki, Marie Carriere, Marie Carriere Aliro Villacorta, Ricard Marcos, Marie Carriere

Summary

Scientists tested tiny plastic particles from common materials like plastic bottles (PET) and biodegradable plastics (PLA) on human intestinal cells, including cells from people genetically prone to inflammatory bowel disease. The plastic particles did get absorbed by the cells, but they didn't cause significant damage or toxicity, even when the plastics had been weathered by environmental conditions. This suggests that short-term exposure to these nanoplastics may not pose major immediate health risks to our digestive system, though more research is needed on long-term effects.

Polymers

PE PET PLA PS

Body Systems

Immune

Study Type In vitro

Environmental pollution by micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) raises concerns about their toxicity to humans, particularly through ingestion. While the impact of native MNPs is increasingly documented, environmentally degraded MNPs remain poorly studied. We assessed the intestinal impact of biodegradable and non-biodegradable nanoplastics (NPLs), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and poly-lactic acid (PLA), both pristine and weathered in environmental conditions. The response of an in vitro intestinal model representative of healthy populations was compared with that of a model of genetic susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), using HT29-MTX cells cocultured with Caco-2 cells expressing either wild-type or mutated nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2). Non-differentiated and differentiated cells were exposed for 24 h to these NPLs. Cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation, and epithelial barrier integrity were evaluated. Although PET and PLA accumulated in cells, they showed no significant toxicity. Therefore, as demonstrated for polystyrene NPLs, PLA and PET particles do not cause major toxic impact to intestinal cells upon acute exposure in vitro and, in this exposure scenario, weathering in environmental conditions does not increase their toxicity.

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