Author Identifier (ORCID)

Lois Balmer: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5618-0555

Abstract

Backgrounds: Microplastics (MPs) have been increasingly detected in human tissues, raising concerns about their role in cardiovascular disease. However, their distribution in matched blood and vascular tissues, such as atherosclerotic plaques, remains poorly understood. Methods: Paired blood and carotid plaque samples were analyzed for 12 polymer types of MPs using pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry among twenty patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. Results: The mean concentration of total MPs was 75.2 μg/g in blood and 432.9 μg/g in plaque. Polyethylene (PE) dominated blood samples (46.5 %), followed by polyvinyl chloride (PVC, 16.8 %) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR, 16.3 %). In plaques, MPs were more evenly distributed, with polypropylene (PP, 23.1 %), PE (20.3 %), SBR (19.8 %), and PVC (18.5 %) being most common. Distinct clustering patterns were observed within each tissue, with a moderate paired correlation for total MPs (r = 0.30). Stronger correlations were found for polyurethane (PU, ρ = 0.91) and ABS (ρ = 0.54), while PC showed a negative correlation (ρ = -0.45). Several MPs were associated with lipid biomarkers, e.g., plaque PP was associated with lower HDL-C. Conclusion: These findings highlight tissue-specific MPs accumulation patterns and suggest the associations between MPs exposure and circulating lipid markers.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

9-1-2025

Volume

203

Publication Title

Environment International

Publisher

Elsevier

School

Centre for Precision Health / School of Medical and Health Sciences

Funders

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (32471535) / The “Medicine + X” Cross-Innovation Construction Project, China (2024JBGS05) / Jilin Province Science Foundation, China (YDZJ202501ZYTS769) / Yangfan Project, China (XHYF202404)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Comments

Cui, C., Guo, Z., Liu, Y., Han, N., Song, J., Chen, Y., Zheng, Y., Sheng, C., Balmer, L., Li, H., Liu, R., Liu, L., Du, J., & Wu, Z. (2025). Tissue-specific distribution of microplastics in human blood and carotid plaques: A paired sample analysis. Environment International, 203, 109743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109743

Included in

Epidemiology Commons

Share

 
COinS
 

Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1016/j.envint.2025.109743