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Potential Effects of Orally Ingesting Polyethylene Terephthalate Microplastics on the Mouse Heart

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Abstract

Polyethylene terephthalate microplastics (PET MPs) are widespread in natural environment, and can enter organisms and accumulate in the body, but its toxicity has not been well studied. Therefore, in order to investigate the toxic effects of PET microplastics on mammals, this study investigated the toxic effects of PET MPs on ICR mice and H9C2 cells by different treatment groups. The results indicated the cardiac tissue of mice in the PET-H (50 µg/mL) group showed significant capillary congestion, myocardial fiber breakage, and even significant fibrosis compared to the PET-C (control) group (P < 0.01). Results of the TUNEL assay demonstrated significant apoptosis in myocardial tissue in the PET-H and PET-M (5 µg/mL) groups (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, Western blotting showed increased expression of the apoptosis-related protein Bax and decreased expression of PARP, caspase-3, and Bcl-2 proteins in both myocardial tissues and H9C2 cells. In addition, flow cytometry confirmed that PET MPs decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis in H9C2 cells; however, this trend was reversed by N-acetylcysteamine application. Moreover, PET MP treatment induced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in H9C2 cells, while the MDA level in the myocardial tissue was elevated, and the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were decreased (P < 0.01), indicating a change in the redox environment. In conclusion, PET MPs promoted cardiomyocyte apoptosis by inducing oxidative stress and activating mitochondria-mediated apoptotic processes, ultimately leading to myocardial fibrosis. This study provides ideas for the prevention of PET MP toxicity and promotes thinking about enhancing plastic pollution control.

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Data Availability

Data is provided within the manuscript. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 82004008, 81903867). We thank Editage (www.editage.cn) for English language editing.

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Author notes

  1. Tao Lu and Desheng Li have equally contributed to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescription Effect and Clinical Evaluation of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, YanTai, 264003, ShanDong, People’s Republic of China

    Tao Lu, Desheng Li, Xiaoqing Yuan, Zhuang Shao, Xiaotian Feng, Chen Yang, Huan Liu, Guanqing Zhang, Yue Wang, Xiaohan Liu, Ling Zhou & Maolei Xu

  2. Drug Screen and Evaluation Research Center, Shandong International Biotechnology Park Development Co., Ltd, YanTai, 264003, ShanDong, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenzhen Wang

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  1. Tao Lu
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Contributions

Tao Lu: Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing-original draft. Desheng Li: Data curation, Writing-original draft. Xiaoqing Yuan: Data curation. Zhenzhen Wang: Data curation. Zhuang Shao: Data curation. Xiaotian Feng: Data curation. Chen Yang: Data curation. Huan Liu: Data curation. Guanqing Zhang: Data curation. Yue Wang: Data curation. Xiaohan Liu: Data curation. Ling Zhou: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Writing-review & editing. Maolei Xu: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing-review & editing.

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Correspondence to Ling Zhou or Maolei Xu.

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Lu, T., Li, D., Yuan, X. et al. Potential Effects of Orally Ingesting Polyethylene Terephthalate Microplastics on the Mouse Heart. Cardiovasc Toxicol 24, 291–301 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12012-024-09837-6

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