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Understanding the mechanistic roles of microplastics combined with heavy metals in regulating ferroptosis: Adding new paradigms regarding the links with diseases
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This review explores the emerging connection between microplastics combined with heavy metals and a type of cell death called ferroptosis, which involves iron-dependent damage to cell membranes. Researchers found that both microplastics and heavy metals can independently trigger ferroptosis, and their combined presence may amplify this effect in organs like the liver, kidneys, and brain. The study suggests that understanding this cell death pathway could provide new insights into how environmental pollutant mixtures contribute to disease.
As a new type of pollutant, microplastics (MPs) commonly exist in today's ecosystems, causing damage to the ecological environment and the health of biological organisms, including human beings. MPs can function as carriers of heavy metals (HMs) to aggravate the enrichment of HMs in important organs of organisms, posing a great threat to health. Ferroptosis, a novel process for the regulation of nonapoptotic cell death, has been shown to be closely related to the occurrence and processes of MPs and HMs in diseases. In recent years, some HMs, such as cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), arsenic (As) and copper (Cu), have been proven to induce ferroptosis. MPs can function as carriers of HMs to aggravate damage to the body. This damage involves oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, lipid peroxidation (LPO), inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and so on. Therefore, ferroptosis has great potential as a therapeutic target for diseases induced by MPs combined with HMs. This paper systematically reviews the potential effects and regulatory mechanisms of MPs and HMs in the process of ferroptosis, focusing on the mitochondrial damage, Fe accumulation, LPO, ERS and inflammation caused by MPs and HMs that affect the regulatory mechanism of ferroptosis, providing new insights for research on regulating drugs and for the development of ferroptosis-targeting therapy for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
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Implication of ferroptosis in hepatic toxicity upon single or combined exposure to polystyrene microplastics and cadmium
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This study found that polystyrene microplastics combined with cadmium caused more severe liver damage in mice than either pollutant alone. The microplastics absorbed cadmium on their surface, increasing the amount of the toxic metal delivered to liver cells, and triggered a type of cell death called ferroptosis. This is concerning because microplastics in the environment commonly carry heavy metals, meaning the combined exposure people face may be more harmful than we thought.
Xenoferroptosis, a double-hit challenge for regulated cell death
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This review explored xenoferroptosis—a form of regulated cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation triggered by environmental contaminants including microplastics and heavy metals. The authors found that xenoferroptosis represents a double-hit mechanism linking environmental exposure to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Co-exposure of polystyrene microplastics and iron aggravates cognitive decline in aging mice via ferroptosis induction
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Researchers studied the combined effects of microplastic and iron exposure on cognitive function in aging mice. They found that polystyrene microplastics accumulated in the brain's cortex and hippocampus, and when combined with iron, significantly worsened cognitive decline through a cell death process called ferroptosis. The study suggests that co-exposure to microplastics and metals may pose heightened risks to brain health in aging populations.
Synergistic effect of PS-MPs and Cd on male reproductive toxicity: Ferroptosis via Keap1-Nrf2 pathway
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A mouse study found that microplastics and the heavy metal cadmium work together to cause more severe damage to male reproductive organs than either pollutant alone. The combination triggered a form of cell death called ferroptosis by disrupting a key protective pathway in the body. This is the first study to show this synergistic reproductive harm, suggesting that microplastics can make other environmental toxins more dangerous.
Ferroptosis Induced by Micro/Nanoplastics: Mechanisms, Toxic Effects, and Implications for Aquaculture
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This review summarizes existing research on how tiny plastic particles (microplastics and nanoplastics) can trigger a type of cell death called ferroptosis in farmed aquatic animals, damaging organs like the intestine, liver, and gills. It describes the biological mechanisms involved and discusses possible monitoring markers and management approaches for aquaculture settings.
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