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Molecular and Cellular Effects of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Focus on Inflammation and Senescence
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This review summarizes research showing that micro- and nanoplastics trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and premature cell aging across many experimental models. These are the same biological processes linked to heart disease, brain disorders, and other age-related conditions. Particularly concerning, studies in animals show that plastic-related damage can be passed from parents to offspring, suggesting potential long-term generational health effects.
Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. Their prevalence, persistence, and increasing industrial production have led to questions about their long-term impact on human and animal health. This narrative review describes the effects of MNPs on oxidative stress, inflammation, and aging. Exposure to MNPs leads to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) across multiple experimental models, including cell lines, organoids, and animal systems. ROS can cause damage to cellular macromolecules such as DNA, proteins, and lipids. Direct interaction between MNPs and immune cells or an indirect result of oxidative stress-mediated cellular damage may lead to increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines throughout different MNP-exposure conditions. This inflammatory response is a common feature in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, and other age-related diseases. MNPs also act as cell senescence inducers by promoting mitochondrial dysfunction, impairing autophagy, and activating DNA damage responses, exacerbating cellular aging altogether. Increased senescence of reproductive cells and transfer of MNPs/induced damages from parents to offspring in animals further corroborates the transgenerational health risks of the tiny particles. This review aims to provoke a deeper investigation into the notorious effects these pervasive particles may have on human well-being and longevity.
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Micro- and Nanoplastics as Potential Chronic Abiotic Stressors: Cellular Senescence, Hallmarks of Ageing, and an Oxidative–Mitochondrial–Inflammatory Framework
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This review summarizes existing lab research on tiny plastic particles and cell ageing processes. Studies found effects on cell energy production, DNA, and inflammation signals, with strongest evidence for mitochondrial problems and cell senescence, but most used high doses and short exposures, so links to human ageing remain unconfirmed.
Nanoplastics: An emerging environmental concern in age-related diseases
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This review examines the growing body of evidence linking nanoplastics to aging and age-related conditions. Researchers found that nanoplastics can disrupt key molecular pathways involved in inflammation, oxidative stress, and cellular damage that are central to the aging process. The study suggests that chronic nanoplastic exposure may accelerate biological aging, raising concerns about long-term health effects as environmental plastic pollution continues to increase.
Effects of micro- and nano-plastics exposure on cellular senescence: an overview.
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Researchers review how micro- and nanoplastics trigger cellular senescence — a state of permanent cell cycle arrest — through oxidative stress and DNA damage, activating pathways like cGAS-STING and NF-κB that elevate risk for age-related diseases, and survey potential therapeutic strategies to counter these effects.
Micro- and Nanoplastics Exposure Across the Lifespan: One Health Implications for Aging and Longevity
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Researchers reviewed evidence on micro- and nanoplastic exposure across the human lifespan through a One Health lens, finding that MNPs trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cellular senescence—mechanisms central to aging—and that older adults face compounded risk from lifetime accumulation and diminished physiological resilience, though direct epidemiological data in this population remain sparse.
Exploring the Impact of Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Macromolecular Structure and Functions
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This review explores how micro- and nanoplastics interact with the building blocks of our cells, including proteins, fats, and DNA. The plastics can cause oxidative stress, disrupt hormones, damage genetic material, cause proteins to misfold, and destabilize cell membranes. The authors propose that these effects are interconnected through feedback loops that could accelerate cellular aging and potentially pass harmful changes to future generations.
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