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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

An Intravital Microscopy-Based Approach to Assess Intestinal Permeability and Epithelial Cell Shedding Performance
Published on: December 3, 2020
Higher abundance of micro- and nanoplastics in inflammatory tissues from patients with intestinal erosion
Li-Xia Du1, Xuan Song2, Tian-Chao Deng3
1Department of Gastroenterology, Chengdu BOE Hospital, Chengdu, China.
Abstract:
The detrimental effects of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) on human health have been the subject of intense research in recent years, but there is little data on how MNPs affect intestinal health. Six participants with colonic or terminal ileal erosion were enrolled, and one erosive tissue sample plus one adjacent non-erosive tissue sample were collected from each participant. Pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was utilized to determine the MNP content of these tissues after pathological examination investigation verified the existence of inflammation in the erosive tissue samples. Our results revealed that MNPs were present in all intestinal samples, with a total MNP concentration of 1758.15 (664.07) mg/kg in inflammatory tissues and 611.49 (510.64) mg/kg in non-inflammatory intestinal tissues; the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Three types of MNPs were identified: polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polystyrene (PS). PE and PVC exhibited a 100% detection rate in all tissue samples, whereas PS was found in 16.67% of samples. Correlation analysis revealed marginal associations of intestinal MNP levels with age, drinking water source and diarrhea. This work provides preliminary baseline data and hints at a weak link between MNP exposure and intestinal inflammation.
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