Microplastics disrupt liver immune cells and promote fat accumulation
Quick Look
- Scientists at the University of Bonn have discovered that microplastics accumulate in the Kupffer cells of the liver, blocking their function and causing fat to accumulate in the organ.
- A study on mice showed that the effect depended on the size of the plastic particles.
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Why It Matters
The study was conducted on mice for 12 weeks. The results were published in the scientific journal Nature Metabolism.
Microplastics can contribute to the accumulation of fat in the liver, disrupting the functioning of its immune cells. This mechanism was discovered by scientists at the University of Bonn in experiments on mice. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
The scientists fed mice microplastics for 12 weeks and then examined Kupffer cells—immune cells in the liver that absorb bacteria, damaged cells, and foreign particles. It turned out that a large amount of plastic accumulates inside them.
Macrophages are able to capture microplastics, but cannot break them down. As a result, the particles clog lysosomes—cellular structures responsible for processing various substances—and prevent immune cells from working normally.
Because of this, macrophages begin to produce more proteins involved in the transfer of fats. Neighboring liver cells react to these signals and begin to accumulate more fat, which disrupts the metabolism in the organ.
The effect also depended on the size of the plastic: smaller nanoparticles hardly disrupted liver metabolism, but accumulated in brown adipose tissue.
Open Questions
- How do these results apply to the human body?
- What are the long-term effects of fat accumulation in the liver from microplastics?
