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Untargeted lipidomics uncover hepatic lipid signatures induced by long-term exposure to polystyrene microplastics in vivo
Summary
Researchers exposed rats to polystyrene microplastics over 6 and 12 months and used advanced lipid profiling to assess liver damage. They found that long-term exposure caused liver inflammation, fatty liver changes, and significant alterations in eight key lipid metabolites involved in fat processing. The study provides evidence that chronic microplastic exposure can disrupt liver lipid metabolism, raising concerns about long-term health effects.
OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effects of long-term polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) exposure on hepatic lipid metabolism in vivo by lipidomics. RESULTS: H&E staining showed long-term PS-MPs exposure could trigger the hepatic inflammatory cell infiltration and hepatic steatosis in SD rats, indicating long-term PS-MPs exposure caused hepatoxicity. Lipidomics revealed that the concentrations of 8 lipid metabolites in the liver were altered after exposure to PS-MPs for both 6 and 12 months, namely LdMePE (16:0), LPC (18:1), LPC (18:2), LPC (20:4), PC (17:0_20:4), PC (18:2_22:6), PC (22:6_13:0) and SM (d18:1_24:0), which were all statistically different from the control groups detected at both time points after PS-MPs exposure, suggesting the mainly metabolic pathway was glycerolipid metabolism. CONCLUSION: This study showed chronic exposure to PS-MPs could cause hepatotoxicity and induce hepatic lipidomics alterations in vivo, which could provide an essential clue for the safety assessment of PS-MPs.