Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Xenoferroptosis, a double-hit challenge for regulated cell death

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.

2025 Ferroptosis and Oxidative Stress
Article Tier 2

Understanding the mechanistic roles of microplastics combined with heavy metals in regulating ferroptosis: Adding new paradigms regarding the links with diseases

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.

2023 Environmental Research 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Research Progress on Micro(nano)plastic-Induced Programmed Cell Death Associated with Disease Risks

This review summarizes how micro and nanoplastics can trigger different types of programmed cell death, including ferroptosis, pyroptosis, and apoptosis, based on recent animal and cell studies. These forms of cell death are linked to inflammation and diseases affecting the gut, liver, lungs, brain, and reproductive system. The findings help explain the biological mechanisms through which microplastic exposure could contribute to chronic disease in humans.

2024 Toxics 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Ferroptosis induced by environmental pollutants and its health implications

Researchers reviewed how environmental pollutants — including microplastics, PM2.5, and heavy metals — trigger ferroptosis, a form of programmed cell death driven by iron and fat oxidation, finding that targeting this cell death pathway could be a strategy to reduce organ damage caused by pollution exposure.

2025 Cell Death Discovery 7 citations
Article Tier 2

International consensus guidelines for the definition, detection, and interpretation of autophagy-dependent ferroptosis

This scientific review provides guidelines for understanding a specific type of cell death called autophagy-dependent ferroptosis, where cells essentially digest their own protective components and then die from iron-driven damage. While not directly about microplastics, this process is relevant because microplastics and nanoplastics have been shown to trigger oxidative stress and iron-related cell damage in tissues. Understanding these cell death pathways helps researchers assess how plastic particle exposure could harm organs like the liver, brain, and lungs.

2024 Autophagy 144 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of microplastics exposure in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

Researchers reviewed the mechanistic links between microplastic and nanoplastic exposure and the two most common neurodegenerative diseases — Alzheimer's and Parkinson's — finding evidence that oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier disruption, and protein aggregation are key pathways connecting plastic pollution to neurodegeneration.

2026 Discover Applied Sciences
Article Tier 2

Do microplastics play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases? Shared pathophysiological pathways for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

This review explores the emerging connection between microplastic exposure and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, identifying shared pathophysiological pathways. Researchers found that microplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier and may trigger oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and protein aggregation, which are hallmarks of these conditions. The study suggests that chronic microplastic exposure could be a contributing environmental factor in neurodegeneration, though direct causal evidence in humans is still lacking.

2025 Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Inhibiting ferroptosis in brain microvascular endothelial cells: A potential strategy to mitigate polystyrene nanoplastics‒induced blood‒brain barrier dysfunction

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics disrupt the blood-brain barrier in mice by triggering ferroptosis — an iron-dependent form of cell death — in brain microvascular endothelial cells, and that blocking ferroptosis with a targeted drug reduced tight junction protein loss and restored barrier integrity.

2024 Environmental Research 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Involvement of the JNK/HO‑1/FTH1 signaling pathway in nanoplastic‑induced inflammation and ferroptosis of BV2 microglia cells

Researchers found that nanoplastics triggered both inflammation and a type of cell death called ferroptosis in brain immune cells (microglia) grown in the lab. The nanoplastics activated a specific signaling pathway (JNK/HO-1/FTH1) that disrupted iron metabolism in the cells. These findings suggest nanoplastics could contribute to neuroinflammation, which is relevant to understanding potential brain health effects of plastic pollution.

2023 International Journal of Molecular Medicine 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-exposure of polystyrene microplastics and iron aggravates cognitive decline in aging mice via ferroptosis induction

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.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 84 citations
Article Tier 2

Elucidating the Neurotoxicopathological Impact of Micro and Nanoplastics: Mechanistic Insights Into Oxidative Stress-mediated Neurodegeneration and Implications for Public Health in a Plastic Pervasive Era

Researchers reviewed the growing evidence linking micro- and nanoplastic exposure to neurodegenerative diseases, identifying oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, DNA damage, and protein misfolding as key mechanisms of harm to the brain. The review highlights critical knowledge gaps — especially around chronic low-dose exposure — and calls for better detection tools and public health policies to address the emerging neurological threat from plastic pollution.

2025 Indian Journal of Health Care Medical & Pharmacy Practice
Article Tier 2

Uncovering the impact of nano- and microplastics on neurodegenerative diseases and strategies to mitigate their damage

Researchers reviewed evidence that micro- and nanoplastics may contribute to the progression of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases by triggering brain inflammation, disrupting mitochondria (the cell's power source), and damaging the blood-brain barrier. The review also found that natural compounds like melatonin and probiotics show early promise in reducing some of these harmful effects.

2025 Environmental Medicine 1 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Breaching Barriers: Microplastic Translocation into Human Body Through Food and Implications for Neurodegeneration

This systematic review traced how microplastics enter the body through food and potentially reach the brain. Once ingested, these particles can cross the gut barrier, enter the bloodstream, and accumulate in brain tissue, where they may cause oxidative stress and inflammation that could contribute to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

2025 Current Pollution Reports
Article Tier 2

From the Environment to Molecular Interactions of Nanoplastics: Unraveling the Neurotoxic Impacts and the Implications in Neurodegenerative Processes

This review examines how nanoplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier and potentially contribute to brain damage and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Nanoplastics have been found in food, water, and air, and once they reach the brain they can trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and protein misfolding. The review calls for more realistic lab studies and better detection methods to understand the true scope of nanoplastic effects on brain health.

2024 Applied Sciences 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano- and Microplastics in the Brain: An Emerging Threat to Neural Health

This review summarizes evidence that nano- and microplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in brain tissue, where they trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and protein clumping linked to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The findings suggest that plastic particles may also interfere with the brain's ability to heal from injury, though long-term human studies are still lacking.

2025 Nanomaterials 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Neurotoxicities induced by micro/nanoplastics: A review focusing on the risks of neurological diseases

This review summarizes evidence that micro- and nanoplastics can reach the brain through the bloodstream and nerve pathways, where they trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell damage that may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. The particles are found in air, water, soil, and food, meaning humans are constantly exposed through breathing, eating, and skin contact, making brain effects a serious long-term concern.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into the toxic effects of micro-nano-plastics on the human brain and their relationship with the onset of neurological diseases: A narrative review.

This review examined toxic effects of micro and nano-plastics (MNPs) on the human brain, linking MNP exposure to neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, disruption of the blood-brain barrier, and progression toward neurodegenerative diseases. The authors synthesized evidence from cell studies, animal models, and emerging human data.

2025 Ageing research reviews
Article Tier 2

Micro-nanoplastics and Parkinson’s disease: evidence and perspectives

Researchers reviewed growing evidence linking micro- and nanoplastic exposure to Parkinson's disease, a degenerative brain condition. Lab studies suggest these particles may accelerate disease by promoting the misfolding of a key brain protein (alpha-synuclein), triggering inflammation, and damaging mitochondria — though large-scale human studies are still needed to establish causation and define safe exposure thresholds.

2026 npj Parkinson s Disease
Article Tier 2

Realistic-NPs trigger depression-like behaviors via mitochondrial iron overload mediating ferroptosis

Researchers created environmentally realistic nanoplastics by mechanically fragmenting polystyrene and found that exposing mice to these particles induced depression-like behaviors within two weeks, along with later learning and memory deficits. The study identified mitochondrial iron overload and ferroptosis in the brain as the underlying mechanism, with the iron chelator deferoxamine able to reverse these effects.

2026 Chemico-Biological Interactions
Article Tier 2

Mechanisms of micro- and nanoplastics on blood-brain barrier crossing and neurotoxicity: Current evidence and future perspectives

This review examines evidence that micro- and nanoplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier, the protective shield around the brain, through multiple pathways including disrupting the barrier's tight junctions and being transported inside cells. Once in the brain, these particles may cause damage through oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and disrupted iron metabolism, with effects worsened when plastics carry other pollutants like heavy metals.

2025 NeuroToxicology 21 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of microplastics on neurodegenerative diseases and underlying molecular mechanisms: A narrative review

This review explores how microplastics that accumulate in the environment can reach the brain through inhalation or by crossing the blood-brain barrier. Researchers examined evidence suggesting that microplastics may contribute to the onset or acceleration of neurodegenerative conditions by triggering harmful responses in brain cells. The study calls for stronger environmental policies, better detection methods, and further research into potential therapeutic interventions.

2024 Environmental Disease 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Maternal exposure to nanopolystyrene induces neurotoxicity in offspring through P53-mediated ferritinophagy and ferroptosis in the rat hippocampus

When pregnant and nursing rats were fed nanoplastics, their offspring showed impaired learning and memory due to a specific type of cell death called ferroptosis in the brain's hippocampus. The nanoplastics triggered a chain reaction involving oxidative stress and iron buildup that damaged developing brain cells, suggesting that maternal exposure to nanoplastics during pregnancy and breastfeeding could harm offspring brain development.

2024 Journal of Nanobiotechnology 39 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of micro- and nanoplastics on the central nervous system: A new threat to humanity?

This review summarizes growing evidence that micro- and nanoplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier and damage the central nervous system through inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of brain chemicals. The authors note that microplastic exposure has been linked to memory and behavior changes in animals and may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, though direct human evidence is still limited.

2024 Toxicology 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Nanoplastic Accumulation and Neurodegenerative Disease in Animal Models

This review examines animal model evidence linking environmental nanoplastic accumulation in brain tissue to neurodegeneration, synthesizing studies showing that nanoplastics trigger neuroinflammation, protein aggregation, and synaptic dysfunction relevant to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease pathology.

2025 Journal of Biological Research - Bollettino della Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale