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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics detected in cirrhotic liver tissue
ClearLinks between fecal microplastics and parameters related to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in humans: An exploratory study
In this exploratory human study, researchers found links between microplastics in people's stool samples and markers of metabolic liver disease (MASLD). Participants with liver disease had different types and amounts of fecal microplastics compared to healthy individuals, along with changes in gut bacteria and liver gene expression. While the study is small, it provides early evidence that microplastic exposure in humans may be connected to liver health problems.
Emerging threat of environmental microplastics: A comprehensive analysis of hepatic metabolic dysregulation and hepatocellular damage (Review)
This review summarizes existing research on how microplastics damage the liver, which is a key organ for filtering toxins from the body. Studies show that microplastics can cause liver tissue damage, trigger cell death, and disrupt fat metabolism, with smaller particles and longer exposure causing worse effects. The findings highlight the liver as a particularly vulnerable organ because it accumulates microplastics that enter the body through food and water.
Chronic PET‐Microplastic Exposure: Disruption of Gut–Liver Homeostasis and Risk of Hepatic Steatosis
Researchers exposed mice to PET microplastics ground from plastic bottles over 29 weeks and found that the particles caused obesity, liver enlargement, fatty liver disease, and early-stage scarring of liver tissue. The microplastics also disrupted gut bacteria and bile acid metabolism, pointing to damage along the gut-liver connection. The findings raise concerns about the long-term health effects of chronic exposure to the type of microplastics commonly found in food and beverages.
Microplastics and nanoplastics: Emerging drivers of hepatic pathogenesis and metabolic dysfunction
This review examines emerging evidence linking micro- and nanoplastic exposure to liver disease, including metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Researchers found that these particles may contribute to liver damage through oxidative stress, inflammation, and disruption of metabolic pathways. The study highlights the need for further research into how environmental plastic contamination may be influencing the rising rates of liver disease worldwide.
Microplastic-induced hepatic adverse effects evaluated in advanced quadruple cell human primary models following three weeks of repeated exposure
Scientists tested the effects of microplastics on a sophisticated model of human liver cells over three weeks of repeated exposure, finding that certain microplastic types triggered inflammation and altered liver function. The advanced cell model, which combines four types of human liver cells, provides more realistic results than simpler lab tests. These findings add to growing evidence that microplastics accumulating in the liver could contribute to chronic inflammation and liver damage in humans.
Impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on liver health: Current understanding and future research directions
This review summarizes what scientists know about how micro- and nanoplastics affect the liver, which is one of the first organs exposed because it processes everything absorbed from the gut. The particles trigger oxidative stress, disrupt energy metabolism, cause cell death, and promote inflammation, and may contribute to conditions like fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis. The paper also highlights how plastics can disturb the gut microbiome, which communicates with the liver through the gut-liver axis and may amplify liver damage.
Should we worry about the accumulation of microplastics in human organs?
Researchers reviewed evidence of microplastic accumulation in human organs, noting that while particles have been found in lungs, blood, and placenta, a key study found 8 times more plastic particles in cirrhotic (diseased) livers than in healthy ones. The authors caution that it remains unclear whether microplastics cause organ disease or simply accumulate as a consequence of it, and call for larger studies to resolve this question.
Microplastic-mediated new mechanism of liver damage: From the perspective of the gut-liver axis
This review describes how microplastics can damage the liver through the gut-liver axis: they first disrupt the gut's protective barrier and beneficial bacteria, allowing harmful substances to leak through the weakened intestinal wall into the bloodstream and travel to the liver. Once there, these substances cause inflammation, metabolic problems, and oxidative stress, offering a new explanation for how microplastic exposure could lead to liver disease.
Polystyrene microplastics induce hepatotoxicity and disrupt lipid metabolism in the liver organoids
Using lab-grown human liver organoids, researchers showed that polystyrene microplastics caused liver cell damage even at concentrations found in the environment. The microplastics disrupted fat metabolism, increased harmful reactive oxygen species, and triggered inflammation in the liver tissue. This study provides early evidence that microplastic exposure could contribute to liver problems like fatty liver disease in humans.
Oral exposure to polyethylene microplastics induces inflammatory and metabolic changes and promotes fibrosis in mouse liver.
Mice fed polyethylene microplastics in their food for 6 to 9 weeks developed liver inflammation, metabolic disruption, oxidative stress, and increased cell growth in the liver. The microplastics also worsened liver scarring (fibrosis) when tested in mice with pre-existing liver damage. This is the first study to show that ingesting polyethylene, the most common type of plastic, can directly damage the mammalian liver and could worsen existing liver conditions.
Exposure to microplastics during pregnancy and fetal liver function
Researchers detected microplastics in the placentas of nearly 90% of over 1,000 pregnant women and found that higher placental microplastic levels were linked to elevated liver enzymes in umbilical cord blood. This suggests that microplastics crossing the placenta may affect fetal liver function before birth, raising concerns about the health effects of prenatal plastic exposure.
Non-parenchymal cells: key targets for modulating chronic liver diseases
This review examines how specialized non-parenchymal cells in the liver drive chronic liver diseases like fatty liver disease, fibrosis, and cirrhosis through inflammation and scarring. While not directly about microplastics, these are the same cell types and disease pathways that microplastics and nanoplastics have been shown to activate when they accumulate in liver tissue. Understanding these mechanisms helps explain how environmental pollutants like microplastics could contribute to the growing burden of chronic liver disease.
Are Ingested or Inhaled Microplastics Involved in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?
This review explored the potential connection between microplastic exposure through ingestion and inhalation and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which has become a leading cause of chronic liver injury. The study discusses how dietary and environmental microplastic exposure could potentially influence liver health through mechanisms including inflammation and endocrine disruption, though further research is needed to establish definitive links.
Table 1_Microplastics in focus: a silent disruptor of liver health- a systematic review.docx
This systematic review of 25 studies found that micro- and nanoplastics can damage liver cells by causing oxidative stress, inflammation, and disrupting how the liver processes fats. These findings suggest that plastic particles small enough to reach the liver could contribute to liver disease, though more human studies are needed.
Evaluating the Hepatotoxicity of Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics in Ducks: Oxidative andFibrotic Outcomes
Researchers fed ducks low and high doses of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics for two months and found that the particles accumulated in the liver, causing fat buildup, scarring, and cell death — similar to fatty liver disease in humans — suggesting plastic pollution may harm bird liver health in ways previously only studied in mammals.
Nanoplastics and Microplastics May Be Damaging Our Livers
This systematic review summarizes research on how micro- and nanoplastics may damage the liver. Since the liver is the body's main detoxification organ, it plays a key role in processing plastic particles that enter the body through food, water, and air, and the evidence suggests these particles can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and other liver problems.
Microplastics in focus: a silent disruptor of liver health- a systematic review
This systematic review examines how micro- and nanoplastics affect liver health, based on 25 experimental and observational studies. The evidence shows that polystyrene particles can cause liver inflammation, oxidative stress, fat buildup, and disruption of metabolic pathways. These findings are concerning because the liver is the body's primary detoxification organ, and plastic-related damage could impair its ability to process other toxins.
Potential toxicity of microplastics on vertebrate liver: A systematic review and meta–analysis
This meta-analysis of 118 studies found that microplastics damage vertebrate livers by inducing oxidative stress and intracellular toxicity, altering biotransformation processes, and disrupting lipid metabolism. Organisms at earlier life stages, exposed to smaller particles, and for longer durations showed the greatest liver damage, with catalase, GST, reactive oxygen species, and alkaline phosphatase levels progressively increasing with microplastic concentration.
Microplastic accumulation in fibrotic intestinal tissue and mesenteric adipose tissue in Crohn’s disease patients
Researchers found microplastic accumulation in intestinal tissue and surrounding fat from Crohn's disease patients, with higher concentrations in areas with more severe scarring and inflammation. Twelve types of microplastics were identified, and frequent invasive medical procedures appeared to worsen the buildup. This is the first study showing that microplastics can penetrate the intestinal barrier in Crohn's patients, raising questions about whether plastic exposure could contribute to disease progression.
Hepatotoxic Mechanisms of Micro- and Nanoplastics in Animal Models: A Scoping Review with Human Health Implications
This scoping review examines hepatotoxic mechanisms of micro- and nanoplastics in animal models, identifying oxidative stress, inflammation, lipid peroxidation, and epigenetic alterations as the primary pathways through which plastic particles damage liver tissue.
Microplastics in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: An emerging threat to liver health
This review examined emerging evidence linking microplastic exposure to the development and progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, formerly NAFLD). The authors found that microplastics detected in liver tissue can exacerbate hepatic inflammation, lipid accumulation, and oxidative stress through multiple mechanisms, adding a novel environmental risk factor to MASLD pathogenesis.
Polyethylene microplastics induced gut microbiota dysbiosis leading to liver injury via the TLR2/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway in mice
Mice exposed to polyethylene microplastics developed liver damage that was traced back to disrupted gut bacteria -- the microplastics increased harmful bacteria while decreasing beneficial ones, triggering inflammation through the TLR2/NF-kB/NLRP3 immune pathway. This study provides new evidence that microplastics may harm the liver not just through direct contact, but indirectly by first throwing off the balance of gut bacteria.
Hepatic and metabolic outcomes induced by sub-chronic exposure to polystyrene microplastics in mice
Researchers studied the effects of sub-chronic polystyrene microplastic exposure on mouse livers using multiple analytical approaches. They found that microplastics accumulated in liver tissue and caused inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of normal metabolic processes including lipid and amino acid metabolism. The study suggests that prolonged microplastic ingestion may pose significant risks to liver health.
Revealing transport, uptake and damage of polystyrene microplastics using a gut-liver-on-a-chip
Using an advanced gut-liver organ-on-a-chip system that mimics human digestion, researchers tracked how polystyrene microplastics travel from the intestine to the liver. The microplastics crossed the intestinal barrier, accumulated in liver tissue, and caused dose-dependent damage to liver cells. This human-relevant model provides strong evidence that microplastics ingested through food and water can reach and harm the liver.