The Microplastic Backlash: From Lungs to Colon... First Evidence Linking Inhalation to Constipation Disorders

Joint Research Team from Pusan National University, University of Toronto, and Inje University
Reveals Mechanism of Microplastics' Organ Migration and Inhibition of Intestinal Motility

The harmful effects of microplastics are well known, but for the first time, research results have shown a direct link between inhaled microplastics and constipation disorders in adults.

Pusan National University (President Choi Jaewon) announced on the 17th that a research team led by Professor Hwang Daeyeon from the Department of Biomaterials Science and the BK21 Project Team (Silver Disease Customized Biomaterials Utilization Platform Innovation Talent Training Team), in collaboration with Dr. Yoon Woobin from the University of Toronto in Canada and Professor Jang Miran from Inje University, has identified that inhalation of airborne microplastics can induce chronic constipation disorders.

Professor Hwang Daeyeon, Pusan National University.

The research team exposed laboratory animals to airborne polystyrene microplastics and confirmed that the microplastics, after infiltrating lung tissue, traveled through the bloodstream to the colon. These microplastics caused key symptoms of constipation, including delayed defecation, reduced intestinal motility, suppressed mucin secretion, abnormalities in the fluid transport system, and impaired enteric nervous system function, as well as structural damage to colon tissue. The same results were observed in mice that were directly injected with microplastics via the tail vein, further supporting the potential risks to humans.

Recently, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reported that humans ingest an amount of microplastics equivalent to one credit card (5g) per week. Microplastics that enter the body through food intake or inhalation are known to travel throughout the body via the bloodstream, causing various tissue damages such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and reproductive toxicity. However, previous studies have mainly focused on ingestion through food, and research on the effects of inhaled microplastics-especially secondary damage resulting from their movement from the lungs to other organs-has been very limited.

Furthermore, although constipation is a common disorder affecting about 16.5% of Korean adults, its association with environmental factors has received little attention. This study is significant both academically and clinically, as it identifies the effects of microplastics traveling through the bloodstream on digestive organs and suggests a new potential cause of constipation disorders. The research team believes that these findings will provide important clues for establishing future strategies for constipation treatment.

Professor Hwang Daeyeon explained, "With the development of industrial society, the concentration of microplastics in the air has surged, and digestive diseases have also been steadily increasing. This study is an important foundational research that scientifically clarifies the correlation between these two phenomena."

The results of this study were published under the title "Action mechanism as a cause of chronic constipation of inhaled and intravenously injected polystyrene nanoplastics in ICR mice" in the October 31 issue of the international journal Science of the Total Environment, which specializes in environmental science. The research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea's BK21 Project and the Graduate Student Research Encouragement Program.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.