Nanoplastics reach breast milk and the inside of cells: how do they affect health? , health and wellness

In 2022, a team led by Marja H. Lamore of the Free University of Amsterdam published some troubling results. Using a new analytical method on blood samples from 22 volunteers, they found that 77% contained plastic particles. If these particles are taken up by cells of the immune system, the researchers said, we must ask ourselves whether this could affect the regulation of the body’s defenses or the susceptibility to immune-related diseases. In Italy, in 2021, a team led by Antonio Ragusa, director of gynecology and obstetrics at Rome’s Fatebenefratelli Hospital, detected microplastics in the placentas of pregnant women for the first time, although they could not trace how far they Had he arrived or not? Children. A year later, they also found plastic particles in the milk of three of four mothers who participated in another study that looked at the presence of these substances.

“Until recently, it was believed that microplastics enter our bodies and go away. It was thought that a particle could cause inflammation in the digestive tract while passing through, but it was not thought that it could cross cellular barriers and accumulate in organs. Now we know that it happens,” explains Ana Isabel Cañas, director of the National Center for Environmental Health in Majadahonda (Madrid). Although plastic has been ubiquitous for decades, concern focused on the almost eternal waste accumulating in oceans or rural areas. In recent years, the development of new microscopy and spectroscopy techniques has made it possible to see how tiny plastic particles, smaller than some bacteria, have turned our organisms into landfills.

With new detection methods, worrying results are emerging. In a recent study published in the journal PNASResearchers at Columbia University (USA) found that about a quarter million plastic pieces can be found in every one liter plastic bottle. These ingredients can be broken down into smaller and smaller parts, allowing them to be inhaled as well as ingested with food or drink.

“Considering that our lungs filter approximately 12,000 liters of air per day, we are constantly exposed to various micro- and nanoplastics, their associated additives and other pollutants and microorganisms that make the inhalation route of particular concern,” the institute said. Of German Trias researchers write. I Pujol Research, in Badalona, ​​and the Autonomous University of Barcelona. It is likely that this is the main transport route for nanoplastics that are released by rubber from clothing or tires when they rub against asphalt; And those plastics can be especially dangerous because they weren’t designed for food use like bottles.

Jose Dominguez, leader of the German Trias i Pujol group, explains that there is evidence in cellular and animal models that nanoplastics accumulate and have an effect on the inflammatory response and cause cellular toxicity, “something that makes it plausible that they could cause problems.” Can do long term.” of health”. But he admits that “there is still no such certainty in humans.” His team is working to understand the impact these ubiquitous substances have on the interactions with microbes that cause respiratory diseases. “Plastics can introduce microorganisms into the body, but sometimes they are so small that the plastic itself is carried by the microorganisms,” says Dominguez. Plastics can cause inflammation, or weaken the immune response. , which bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus Cause more virulent infections. To understand the impact of basic elements of our lifestyle on health, we need to add the emissions from traffic to this conversation.

Plastics that reach the market and come into contact with food have been studied to be non-toxic, but aging or exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun causes the material to degrade and change its characteristics. From there, unknowns emerge about their new role, which increases when microplastics interact with other elements in the environment. “It can be toxic because it goes beyond quality control,” says Jorge Bernardino de la Serna of Imperial College London. As the researchers explain, it was assumed that safe microplastics could enter the body, but the expectation was that they would be excreted after being swallowed. “When it was noticed that there were pieces of plastic in the blood bags, we all started getting worried,” he says.

Nanoparticles that transport toxins

The researchers explain that pure plastics are so well made and so little harmful that cells swallow them as if they were any other food. Since they are not biodegradable, the plastic particles become integrated into the cell, which distributes the plastic to new cells when it divides, as it does with the rest of its components. “This is worrisome because, if it is not eliminated, it can enter the blood and from there to other organs or lymph nodes, affecting the immune system, and this can damage the cells that protect the brain.” “Can also cross the blood-brain barrier.” Bernardino de Serna explains. There are scientists who consider this mechanism as a possible explanation for some mental or neurological diseases, perhaps not due to the effects of plastic, but due to other toxic elements or endocrine disruptors that can travel by attaching to these nanoparticles. . Studies conducted on rats have shown that microplastics can reduce sperm quality; Something that could at least partially explain the decline seen in humans over the past half century.

Ana Isabel Cañas explains that “there is still a lack of analytical tools to quantify and identify each type of plastic, since their number is infinite and the toxicity can vary.” And it warns of the difficulty in identifying the harm that can be caused by a ubiquitous substance that, in the real world, usually does not occur alone. “It is easier to address the risks of a simple compound (such as bisphenol A) than a particle that, in addition to the main plastic, has additives added to improve flexibility, change color or make it water resistant, as CNSA “You don’t know what to attribute toxicity to,” says the director of the U.S. Research Institute. Furthermore, to move forward in this new area of ​​research, ways must be found to analyze the effects of plastics under real conditions, not That’s the only pure plastic that is commonly used in research.

Scientists emphasize that at present, the impact of micro- and nanoplastics on human health is not known. Now techniques are being developed to accurately evaluate the quantity and typology of these particles, about which till now there was only speculation. To try to understand the health impact of these particles, the EU launched the CUSP cluster in 2021, made up of five research consortia: AURORA, IMPTOX, PlasticsHeal, PlasticsFat, and POLYRISK. There are simple recommendations when they start to produce results, such as replacing plastic bottles with glass bottles, but replacing this practical and ubiquitous material will be complex. In 1950, the world produced 2 million tons of plastic, this number reached 461 million tons in 2021 and is projected to reach 590 million tons in 2050. Of that amount, only 9% is recycled. Even if plastic production is reduced, tons of particles released into the environment will continue to break down into pieces for centuries and travel around the world via air or water.

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