微塑料环境暴露与人体健康效应研究进展

Research Progress on Environmental Exposure and Human Health Effects of Microplastics

作为一种新型的全球性环境污染物,微塑料日益引起关注.人体可通过摄食等途径摄入微塑料,进而引起潜在健康风险.目前有关微塑料的研究日益增加,但关于人体微塑料暴露水平及其潜在健康危害方面的相关研究有限.本文在梳理微塑料的人体暴露途径及水平的基础上,从体内、体外两方面试验研究总结分析了微塑料暴露对细胞、哺乳模式动物小鼠组织的影响,结果表明:(1)人类可通过消化道、呼吸道以及皮肤接触的方式摄入微塑料,其中经口摄入是最主要的接触途径.(2)在人体多种组织、器官及代谢物中均检测到微塑料的存在,范围为0~134.3个/g.(3)动物试验表明,微塑料可以通过血液循环蓄积于心、肝、脾、肺、肾和睾丸等器官中,引起炎症反应、氧化应激、免疫损伤、菌群失调、代谢紊乱等,甚至可能产生跨代效应.(4)细胞试验表明,粒径较小的微塑料可穿透细胞膜进入细胞质中,引起细胞形态及功能改变,导致细胞活力下降,影响细胞生长与增殖,还可诱导ROS生成甚至产生DNA损伤等细胞毒性作用.微塑料的毒性作用可能与其类型、粒径、染毒浓度及受试物类型等有关,建议今后加强环境低浓度下微塑料及其吸附物质在食物链传递过程中毒性蓄积与变化的研究,以及开展流行病学调查,为将来进一步阐释微塑料潜在的毒理机制和评估人体健康风险提供理论依据.

As a new type of global environmental pollutant,microplastics have attracted increasing attention.However,there is still a lack of research on exposure levels to microplastics and their potential health hazards.This review aims to sort out the pathways and levels of human exposure to microplastics,and to summarize the adverse effects of microplastic exposure on mammalian model animals-mice from in vivo and cultured cells in vitro.The results showed that:(1)Humans can ingest microplastics through digestive tract,respiratory tract,and skin contact,and oral ingestion is the main route of exposure.(2)Microplastics are detected in various tissues,organs,and metabolites of the human body,ranging from 0 to 134.3 per gram.(3)Animal experiments have shown that microplastics can accumulate in the heart,liver,spleen,lung,kidney,testis and other organs through blood circulation,causing inflammatory response,oxidative stress,immune damage,flora disorder,metabolic disorders,and even intergenerational effects.(4)Cell experiments have shown that microplastics with small particle sizes can penetrate cell membrane and enter the cytoplasm,causing changes in cell morphology and function,resulting in decreased cell vitality,affecting cell growth and proliferation,and inducing ROS generation and even DNA damage and other cytotoxic effects.The toxicity of microplastics may be related to its type,particle size,concentration and type of test substance.Further studies on toxic accumulation and changes of microplastics and their adsorbents in the food chain transfer process at low environmental concentrations can be strengthened,as well as epidemiological studies,to provide a theoretical basis for further elucidating the potential toxicological mechanisms of microplastics and assessing human health risks in the future.