We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Microplastic and Extracellular Vesicle Interactions: Recent Studies on Human Health and Environment Risks
Summary
This review explores the newly discovered relationship between microplastics and extracellular vesicles, tiny particles that cells use to communicate with each other. Evidence indicates that microplastics can alter how these vesicles are distributed and what molecular signals they carry, potentially disrupting normal cell communication. Understanding this interaction could provide important insights into how microplastic exposure may contribute to inflammation, metabolic changes, and other health effects.
Microplastics (MPs) are widespread environmental pollutants that have drawn significant attention due to their possible health risks to humans and animals, as well as their extensive presence in ecosystems. Recent growing evidence highlights a remarkable relationship between MPs and extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanoscale particles involved in intercellular communication. The purpose of this review was to investigate how the relationships between MPs and EVs can affect cellular functions and how this interaction could impact environmental conditions leading to broader ecological risks. The interaction patterns and bioactivity of both MPs and EVs are strongly influenced by biophysical characteristics such as hydrophobicity, surface charge, and particle size, which have received particular attention from the scientific community. Recent studies indicate that MPs affect EV distribution and their capacity to function appropriately in biological systems. Additionally, MPs can modify the molecular cargo of EVs, which may result in alterations of cell signaling pathways. Understanding the interactions between MPs and EVs could provide important opportunities to comprehend their potential effects on human health and environmental systems, especially when it comes to cancer development, endocrine, metabolic, and inflammatory disorders, and ecological disruptions. This review emphasizes the necessity of multidisciplinary research to clarify the molecular and biophysical mechanisms regulating the interaction between MPs and EVs.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
New insights into the potential effects of PET microplastics on organisms via extracellular vesicle-mediated communication
Researchers discovered that PET microplastics can be transported within the body through tiny cellular packages called extracellular vesicles, which cells naturally use to communicate with each other. They found that exposure to PET microplastics altered the content and behavior of these vesicles, potentially allowing plastic particles to reach tissues beyond the initial site of exposure. The study reveals a previously unknown biological pathway through which microplastics may spread their effects throughout organisms.
Investigation of cell-to-cell transfer of polystyrene microplastics through extracellular vesicle-mediated communication
Scientists discovered that cells can transfer polystyrene microplastic particles to other cells through tiny membrane-enclosed packages called extracellular vesicles. This finding reveals a previously unknown mechanism for how microplastics could spread between cells in the body, potentially explaining how plastic particles move through tissues after initial exposure.
Extracellular vesicles as mediators of metabolomic changes in response to PET microplastics
Researchers fed piglets PET microplastics (a common plastic used in food packaging) and found that the particles changed the chemical signals carried by extracellular vesicles, which are tiny messengers that cells use to communicate with each other. The altered signals disrupted fat processing, energy production, sugar metabolism, and hormone production. This reveals a previously unknown way that microplastics could cause widespread disruption throughout the body.
The Impact of Microplastics on Biological Systems: A Focus on Extracellular Vesicles and miRNA Profiles
This review examines how microplastics affect biological systems with a focus on extracellular vesicles, discussing how MP exposure alters vesicle release and composition in ways that may propagate cellular stress signals throughout tissues and contribute to systemic health effects.
Investigation of Cell-to-cell Transfer of Polystyrene Microplastics Through Extracellular Vesicle-mediated Communication
Researchers investigated cell-to-cell transfer of polystyrene microplastics through extracellular vesicles, finding that cells can package and transfer plastic particles via vesicle-mediated pathways, a previously unrecognized route for intracellular plastic dissemination.