---
title: "Polystyrene microplastics alter mitochondrial function and nuclear processes in intestinal epithel"
id: "biorxiv-22-polystyrene-microplastic-exposure-disrupts-mitochondrial-pathways-and-nuclear"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-22-polystyrene-microplastic-exposure-disrupts-mitochondrial-pathways-and-nuclear"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "Gastroenterology"
source_name: "bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)"
source_url: "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.22.753448v1?rss=1"
published_at: "2026-09-23T12:00:00.000Z"
evidence_level: "Verified Feed"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# Polystyrene microplastics alter mitochondrial function and nuclear processes in intestinal epithel
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-22-polystyrene-microplastic-exposure-disrupts-mitochondrial-pathways-and-nuclear
- **Specialty:** [Gastroenterology](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/gastroenterology.md)
- **Primary Source:** bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.22.753448v1?rss=1)
- **Published At:** 2026-09-23T12:00:00.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Verified Feed
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- This preprint reports an untargeted proteomic analysis of primary rat duodenal epithelial cells exposed in vitro to **polystyrene microplastics** (0.5 μm) for 72 hours. - Cells were treated with either pristine or artificially digested microplastics at two concentrations (10 and 100 μg/mL), then analyzed by tandem liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC‑MS). - Differential expression was defined by protein intensity changes ≥1.3 relative to controls. - After exposure to 100 μg/mL pristine microplastics the authors identified 41 differentially expressed proteins (reported as 19 downregulated and 21 upregulated). - Following exposure to 100 μg/mL digested microplastics, 3 proteins were reported as upregulated and 7 as downregulated, indicating that particle physicochemistry influenced the proteomic response. - Functional enrichment (FGSEA) using Reactome identified 270 significantly altered pathways across conditions and concentrations. - Altered pathways mapped to domains including **protein synthesis**, **DNA replication**, **cell cycle control**, and **aerobic respiration**. - Aggregate proteomic changes were interpreted as increased mitochondrial respiration and reduced nuclear-related activities such as DNA synthesis, transcription and cell proliferation. - The authors highlight the **mitochondria** and **nucleus** as targets for future mechanistic work and stress that biological and environmental context matters when modelling microplastic exposure in vitro. - This work is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed; methodological details beyond the abstract (e.g., replicate numbers, statistical tests, full protein lists) are available in the full text or supplementary materials but were not reported in the abstract.
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
Polystyrene microplastic exposure disrupts mitochondrial pathways and nuclear processes in primary intestinal epithelial cells | bioRxiv Skip to main content New Results Polystyrene microplastic exposure disrupts mitochondrial pathways and nuclear processes in primary intestinal epithelial cells View ORCID Profile Charlotte E Sofield , View ORCID Profile Anastazja M Gorecki , View ORCID Profile Li Shan Chiu , View ORCID Profile Chidozie Anyaegbu , View ORCID Profile Ryan Anderton doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.22.753448 Charlotte E Sofield 1 The University of Notre Dame Australia; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Charlotte E Sofield For correspondence: charlottesofield99{at}gmail.com Anastazja M Gorecki 2 School of Health Sciences, University of Notre Dame Australia; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Anastazja M Gorecki Li Shan Chiu 3 School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame Australia; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Li Shan Chiu Chidozie Anyaegbu 4 Curtin Medical Research Institute, Curtin University Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Chidozie Anyaegbu Ryan Anderton 2 School of Health Sciences, University of Notre Dame Australia; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Ryan Anderton Abstract Info/History Metrics Supplementary material Preview PDF Abstract Microplastics are pervasive environmental pollutants that pose a growing concern for human health. Oral ingestion is a common route of human microplastic exposure, yet the proteomic response of the gut epithelium to microplastics remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the cellular effects of pristine and artificially digested microplastic exposure in primary rat duodenal epithelial cells using untargeted proteomics. Cells were exposed to pristine or digested 0.5 um polystyrene microplastics at 10 or 100 ug/mL for 72 hours and were then analyzed by tandem liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Proteins that were both significantly different in intensity compared to controls, with a threshold change of 1.3 or greater, were considered to be differentially expressed. This criterion identified 41 differentially expressed proteins after 100 ug/mL pristine MP exposure, with 19 downregulated and 21 upregulated. Following exposure to 100 ug/mL digested MP, only 3 differentially expressed proteins were upregulated and 7 were down regulated, demonstrating the impact of microplastic physicochemistry. FGSEA pathway analysis revealed that 270 Reactome pathways were significantly altered following microplastic exposure in either condition at both concentrations. These pathways contributed to functional domains including protein synthesis, DNA replication, cell cycle control and aerobic respiration. Overall, microplastic exposure was associated with upregulated mitochondrial respiration, and downregulation of nuclear-related processes including DNA synthesis, transcription and cell proliferation. This study provides targets for future investigation (mitochondria and nucleus) and emphasizes the need to consider biological and environmental conditions for in vitro models of microplastic exposure. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funder Information Declared The University of Notre Dame Australia, https://ror.org/02stey378 Australian Government, https://ror.org/0314h5y94 Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license . Back to top Previous Next Posted September 23, 2026. Download PDF Supplementary Material Email Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. 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Share Polystyrene microplastic exposure disrupts mitochondrial pathways and nuclear processes in primary intestinal epithelial cells Charlotte E Sofield , Anastazja M Gorecki , Li Shan Chiu , Chidozie Anyaegbu , Ryan Anderton bioRxiv 2026.09.22.753448; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.22.753448 Share This Article: Copy Citation Tools Polystyrene microplastic exposure disrupts mitochondrial pathways and nuclear processes in primary intestinal epithelial cells Charlotte E Sofield , Anastazja M Gorecki , Li Shan Chiu , Chidozie Anyaegbu , Ryan Anderton bioRxiv 2026.09.22.753448; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.22.753448 Citation Manager Formats BibTeX Bookends EasyBib EndNote (tagged) EndNote 8 (xml) Medlars Mendeley Papers RefWorks Tagged Ref Manager RIS Zotero Tweet Widget Facebook Like Google Plus One Subject Areas All Articles Animal Behavior and Cognition (8021) Biochemistry (18781) Bioengineering (14921) Bioinformatics (44491) Biophysics (22625) Cancer Biology (19761) Cell Biology (26945) Clinical Trials (138) Developmental Biology (13993) Ecology (21036) Epidemiology (2067) Evolutionary Biology (25473) Genetics (16185) Genomics (23535) Immunology (18725) Microbiology (42548) Molecular Biology (18095) Neuroscience (93600) Paleontology (701) Pathology (2987) Pharmacology and Toxicology (5104) Physiology (8127) Plant Biology (16020) Scientific Communication and Education (2097) Synthetic Biology (4572) Systems Biology (10251) Zoology (2393)
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