That microplastics had managed to enter our body is something that we already knew in detail, especially considering that we have found them in the lungs, in the placenta and even in the testicles. However, there were questions about where they accumulate in greater quantities in our body and what consequences it has. Something that science has already solved.
What they have seen. It has been thanks to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Science and Ecotechnology that it has finally been revealed that not only can cholesterol crystals be found in bile that end up generating stones, but there are also microplastics. And the worst of all is that they have a direct impact on the premature aging of the cells that make up our gallbladder.
How do you know? To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed 14 samples of human bile: five from healthy patients without gallstones and nine from patients with gallstones. The results were conclusive, since they found microplastics in the samples, mainly highlighting two of the most common polymers in our daily lives: polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Here it could be seen that the particles had a size that ranged between 20 and 50 micrometers. A very relevant fact, since from these sizes is when they can cross the biological barriers, cross the intestine-liver axis and end up in the gallbladder of our liver.
There is more. In addition to the presence of plastic in the bile, it could be seen that patients who had gallstones showed a higher load of microplastics. Something fundamental, since it is a fact that fits with recent research that suggests that these particles could act as ‘seeds’ around which cholesterol groups to form the dreaded stones in the gallbladder.
What do they do? This is the key point of these studies, since we still do not have much idea of the damage that microplastics can do to our body. Here it points out that bile causes mitochondrial dysfunction and promotes the aging of cholangiocytes, which are the cells that line the bile ducts.
In previous experiments, it was possible to see that in the liver of laboratory mice exposed to environmental concentrations of microplastics there was alteration in the metabolism of bile acids and liver damage. In the case of humans, which increases oxidative stress. But the important thing is that in both cases the bile duct cell loses its ability to function correctly and ages prematurely, which in the long term could be related to liver and bile duct diseases.
Can it be mitigated? Among the bad news, scientific literature suggests that there are ways to avoid it. One of the great protectors that exists is melatonin, suggesting that it can combat oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction generated by these synthetic intruders.
In parallel, other recent experiments with human liver organoids have shown that the damage caused by microplastics improves when ursodeoxycholic acid is administered, which is the drug administered to ‘dissolve’ gallstones. The ‘magic’ of this compound is that it increases bile flow, suggesting that promoting a kind of natural “washing” of the bile duct could help reduce toxicity.
A problem. The confirmation of bile as a “hidden reservoir” of microplastics highlights an undeniable reality: plastic pollution is no longer just an environmental problem in our oceans, but a systemic public health problem about which we know more and more data. The longer-term consequences, such as the relationship with gallbladder cancer, remain to be seen.
Images | FREEPIK
In WorldOfSoftware | An 18-year-old girl has created the definitive weapon against microplastics: a filter that eliminates 96% of them from water
