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Nanoplastics from ground polyethylene terephthalate food containers: Genotoxicity in human lung epithelial A549 cells
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This study tested nanoplastics made from ground-up PET food containers on human lung cells in the lab and found they caused DNA damage and increased harmful reactive oxygen species. Unlike most studies that use standard polystyrene particles, this research used real-world PET plastic from supermarket containers, making the results more relevant to actual human exposure. The findings suggest that inhaling tiny PET particles shed from everyday food packaging could pose a risk to lung health.
The ubiquitous pollution of plastic particles in most environmental matrices leads to concern about any potential adverse effects on human health. Most studies on the toxicological effect of nanoplastics has focused on standard particles of polystyrene. In reality humans are exposed to a large variety of different types and sizes of plastic material via oral intake and inhalation. In this study, we investigated the effect of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanoplastic particles from ground food containers from a supermarket. The aim was to investigate a possible link between exposure to PET nanoplastics and genotoxic response in a cell model of the human airway epithelial (A549) cells. Further, we investigated the combined effect of PET and chemicals known to alter the cellular redox state, as a model of partially compromised antioxidant defense system. DNA damage was assessed by the alkaline comet assay. The ground PET nanoplastics have a mean hydrodynamic diameter of 136 nm in water. The results showed that PET exposure led to increased reactive oxygen species production (approximately 30 % increase compared to unexposed cells). In addition, exposure to PET nanoplastic increased the level of DNA strand breaks (net increase = 0.10 lesions/10 base pair, 95 % confidence interval: 0.01, 0.18 lesions/10 base pair). Pre- or post-exposure to hydrogen peroxide or buthionine sulfoximine did not lead to a higher level of DNA damage. Overall, the study shows that exposure to PET nanoplastics increases both intracellular reactive oxygen production and DNA damage in A549 cells.
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Genotoxicity of Particles From Grinded Plastic Items in Caco-2 and HepG2 Cells
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Researchers ground real-life plastic food containers into nano-sized particles and tested their effects on human intestinal and liver cell lines. The study found that nanoplastics from transparent PET containers produced a modest increase in DNA strand breaks, though no significant cytotoxicity or oxidative stress was observed, suggesting potential genotoxic effects warrant further investigation.
Effects of true-to-life PET nanoplastics using primary human nasal epithelial cells
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Researchers exposed human nasal cells to nanoplastics made from real PET water bottles and found that the particles were absorbed into cells and triggered oxidative stress. The nanoplastics also disrupted mitochondrial function and activated the cell's autophagy cleanup pathway. Since the nose is the first barrier encountered when breathing in airborne plastic particles, these findings suggest that nasal tissues may be particularly vulnerable to nanoplastic exposure.
Long-Term PET-Nanoplastic Exposure Alters DNA Damage Response Capacity in BEAS-2B Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells
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Scientists exposed human lung cells to tiny PET plastic particles (the type found in plastic bottles) continuously for over 20 weeks and found that these cells became worse at repairing their own DNA damage, essentially weakening the body's natural defense against cell mutations. When challenged with a DNA-damaging chemical, the plastic-exposed cells accumulated more lasting damage than normal cells, suggesting long-term nanoplastic exposure could make lung tissue more vulnerable to genetic errors over time. While this was a lab study on cells (not people), it raises real concerns about what breathing in plastic particles
Long-Term Exposure to Real-Life Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoplastics Induces Carcinogenesis In Vitro
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In a lab study, human lung cells exposed to PET nanoplastics (the same plastic used in water bottles) for 30 weeks developed signs of cancer, including DNA damage, the ability to grow without normal anchoring, and increased activity of cancer-related genes. These findings suggest that long-term, chronic exposure to nanoplastics through breathing could carry serious cancer risks that short-term safety tests would miss.
Genotoxicity of polystyrene and polyethylene micro- and nanoparticles in human lung (A549) and liver (HepG2) cell lines
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Lab tests on human lung and liver cells exposed to tiny polystyrene and polyethylene plastic particles found modest reductions in cell survival and some DNA damage, more so in liver cells. Effects varied by plastic type and cell type, and were not clearly linked to oxidative stress.
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