WCN23-0982 The burden of plastic in human health: presence of microplastics in kidney and their prospective nephrotoxicity

First Detection of Microplastics Fragments in Human Urine and Kidney Tissues

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Scientists found tiny plastic particles, and even bits of paint pigment, in human urine and kidney tissue for the first time. This matters because kidney disease rates are rising worldwide, including mysterious cases with no clear cause, and researchers now want to find out whether these plastic fragments are passing through our kidneys or actually contributing to kidney damage. It's an early but important clue in understanding how the plastics we're constantly exposed to might affect our organs.

Effects of Nanoplastic Particles on the Kidney

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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (like those from broken-down everyday plastics) can travel through the digestive system and reach the kidneys, where they get absorbed by important filtering cells and change their shape and structure. Using fish and lab-grown human kidney cells, researchers also discovered that if the kidney's filtering system is already damaged, these plastic particles pass through more easily, suggesting people with kidney disease might be more vulnerable to potential harm from microplastic exposure. This early research highlights a new reason to take plastic pollution seriously, though more studies are needed to know exactly how this affects human health long-term

Wcn26-8487 Plastics Age and Kidney Damage: Photo-oxidized Microplastics Enhance Tubular Cell Injury

Microplastics in human body: a narrative on routes of exposure to contamination and potential health effects

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Tiny plastic particles from our environment and food are getting into our bodies through eating, drinking, and breathing, and this review of existing research shows they've been found in organs like the liver, heart, and lungs. Scientists are concerned that as these particles build up over time, they may cause cell damage, inflammation, and stress on the body, though more research is still needed to fully understand the long-term health risks. The takeaway: microplastic exposure is nearly impossible to avoid completely, but reducing contact with plastic packaging and products may help limit how much ends up in your body.

Polystyrene microplastics: a threat to renal energy metabolism and tissue morphology in Wistar rats

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Researchers orally exposed male Wistar rats to polystyrene microplastics at three doses over four weeks and found dose-dependent disruption of renal energy metabolism, including impaired glycolysis, suppressed gluconeogenesis, and a metabolic shift toward anaerobic pathways, accompanied by progressive histopathological damage including tubular inflammation and loss of Bowman's capsular space.