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Nanoplastics: An emerging environmental concern in age-related diseases
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This review examines the growing body of evidence linking nanoplastics to aging and age-related conditions. Researchers found that nanoplastics can disrupt key molecular pathways involved in inflammation, oxidative stress, and cellular damage that are central to the aging process. The study suggests that chronic nanoplastic exposure may accelerate biological aging, raising concerns about long-term health effects as environmental plastic pollution continues to increase.
The global demand for plastics has increased in recent years, with annual production exceeding 400 million tons. Despite their versatility and economic advantages, plastics pose severe environmental challenges due to inadequate waste management, with only 9 % being recycled. The rest accumulate in the environment, leading to widespread plastic pollution and the emergence of nanoplastics (NPs), plastic particles smaller than 0.1 μm. Their persistence in ecosystems, air, and water sources has raised significant ecological and health concerns. Beyond environmental concerns, NPs have been found in human tissues, with growing evidence linking them to adverse biological effects. Of particular concern is their role in aging and age-related diseases. Their ability to disrupt molecular pathways involved in DNA damage, mitochondrial function, and immune responses further implicates them in premature aging. Moreover, the interaction of NPs with cellular machinery can alter critical signaling pathways, such as p53 and p16INK4a/Rb, which regulate cell cycle progression and genomic integrity. Dysregulation of these pathways by NPs may drive cellular senescence, an irreversible growth arrest state contributing to tissue dysfunction and age-related pathologies. This review specifically highlights the mechanistic links between NPs exposure, cellular senescence, and biological aging, offering a novel and timely perspective on how NPs may contribute to age-related pathologies. It aims to examine recent researches on NPs in relation to senescence and aging, providing insights into their mechanistic impact at cellular and systemic levels. By analyzing emerging evidence on their role in senescence and aging, this study highlights potential health risks and underscores the urgent need for further investigations and regulatory measures to mitigate their long-term consequences.
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Molecular and Cellular Effects of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Focus on Inflammation and Senescence
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This review summarizes research showing that micro- and nanoplastics trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and premature cell aging across many experimental models. These are the same biological processes linked to heart disease, brain disorders, and other age-related conditions. Particularly concerning, studies in animals show that plastic-related damage can be passed from parents to offspring, suggesting potential long-term generational health effects.
Microplastics/nanoplastics contribute to aging and age-related diseases: Mitochondrial dysfunction as a crucial role
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This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics may contribute to aging and age-related conditions by damaging mitochondria, the energy-producing structures inside cells. Researchers describe how these tiny plastic particles enter the body through food, water, and air, and accumulate in various organs where they can disrupt normal mitochondrial function. The study suggests that microplastic-driven mitochondrial damage could be an underappreciated factor in the aging process and related health decline.
Micro- and Nanoplastics Exposure Across the Lifespan: One Health Implications for Aging and Longevity
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Researchers reviewed evidence on micro- and nanoplastic exposure across the human lifespan through a One Health lens, finding that MNPs trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cellular senescence—mechanisms central to aging—and that older adults face compounded risk from lifetime accumulation and diminished physiological resilience, though direct epidemiological data in this population remain sparse.
Micro- and Nanoplastics as Potential Chronic Abiotic Stressors: Cellular Senescence, Hallmarks of Ageing, and an Oxidative–Mitochondrial–Inflammatory Framework
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This review summarizes existing lab research on tiny plastic particles and cell ageing processes. Studies found effects on cell energy production, DNA, and inflammation signals, with strongest evidence for mitochondrial problems and cell senescence, but most used high doses and short exposures, so links to human ageing remain unconfirmed.
Effects of micro- and nano-plastics exposure on cellular senescence: an overview.
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Researchers review how micro- and nanoplastics trigger cellular senescence — a state of permanent cell cycle arrest — through oxidative stress and DNA damage, activating pathways like cGAS-STING and NF-κB that elevate risk for age-related diseases, and survey potential therapeutic strategies to counter these effects.
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