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Microplastic-induced gut microbiota and serum metabolic disruption in Sprague-Dawley rats
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Researchers exposed rats to a mixture of common microplastic types at concentrations reflecting real-world human exposure and found significant disruptions to gut bacteria and blood metabolites. The microplastic mixture altered the balance of beneficial and harmful gut microbes and changed metabolic pathways related to amino acids and lipids. The study suggests that everyday microplastic exposure from food and water may affect mammalian gut health and metabolism.
Toxic effects of exposure to microplastics (MPs) on living organisms and humans have attracted global concern. However, most previous studies exposed animals to only one type of MP (mainly polystyrene) to assess the health risk of MPs for animals. Therefore, we conducted a laboratory gavage experiment on rats based on the types and concentration of MPs to which humans are exposed in their daily life. The purpose of this study is to use Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat models to assess the potential health risks in mammals from co-exposure to various MPs. In the present study, SD rats were exposed to 12 mg/kg bw/day mixed-MPs (containing 10 types of MPs) for 42 days, and then examined the alteration of gut microbes and serum metabolites. The results showed that 6 gut microbes at the family level (f_Muribaculaceae, f_Oscillospiraceae, f_Bacteroidaceae, f_Neisseriaceae, f_Prevotellaceae, and f_Veillonellaceae) were significantly perturbed (t-test, p < 0.05) in rats after MP exposure. After MP intervention, 47 metabolites significantly regulated in SD rat serum, mainly including lipids and lipid-like molecules (e.g., fatty acids), organic acids and derivatives (e.g., phosphoric acids), and isoflavonoids (e.g., daidzein). These findings contribute to assessing the health risks of various MP co-exposure in mammals in the actual environment and provide a novel insight into the toxicity mechanism of MPs.
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