Persistent micro- and nanoplastics as triggers for interstitial lung disease

塑料是地球上第三丰富的人造材料。它会降解并脱落小到肉眼无法看到的颗粒或纤维，被称为“微纳米塑料”（MNP）。这些颗粒是室内和室外空气污染的新认识部分，由于它们有可能跨越生物界限进入活细胞，因此引起关注。这给科学家、政府、媒体和公众敲响了警钟：空气污染对健康的影响是明确的，但吸入塑料粉尘的额外影响却鲜为人知。这对公共卫生将变得越来越重要；即使努力减少其他来源的空气污染，塑料材料仍将继续脱落。在一些塑料行业，工人暴露在高水平的细塑料粉尘中，可能会患上肺部疾病，导致肺组织疤痕和呼吸困难。在这项研究中，我们试图更详细地调查这一点，使用一系列实验（肺）模型来确定暴露于环境MNP空气污染所带来的风险水平，以及导致疾病的相关生物学途径。我们将这样做：1。定量暴露于过去和现在的MNP通过重新分析旧的和分析新的空气污染样本的塑料。2. 利用碾磨、纺纱和切割技术制造不同的微塑料颗粒和纤维，以提出有关毒性驱动因素的可控问题。MNP材料的类型将基于环境中最常见的生产和发现。3. 利用人体相关细胞模型和MNP对肺部危害的关键标志物，评估吸入MNP对肺部的毒性。4. 在动物模型中评估吸入MNP对肺组织瘢痕形成的长期影响。这项新颖的多学科研究将促进对吸入MNP在肺部是否有影响及其原因的理解。这是一个日益重要的知识鸿沟。从长远来看，塑料产量的增加将加剧空气污染中的塑料成分。在短期内，塑料材料会脱落，我们不知道吸入这种材料会产生什么影响。这些发现对各国政府和国际政府都很重要，因为它们将使他们能够评估吸入微塑料的风险。它将强调是否需要采取任何干预措施，以尽量减少未来的接触。医疗专业人员在治疗呼吸系统疾病患者时，如果能意识到潜在的危险，将会受益。研究结果还将有助于工业开发更安全的塑料材料替代品。

Plastic is the third most abundant manmade material on Earth. It degrades and sheds particles or fibres too small to see with the naked eye, known as 'micro- and nanoplastic' (MNP). These particles are a newly recognised part of pollution in indoor and outdoor air and are of concern due to their potential to cross biological boundaries and enter living cells. This has alerted scientists, government, media and the public: the health effects of air pollution are well defined, but the additional impacts of breathing in plastic dust are poorly understood. This will become increasingly important for public health; plastic materials will continue to shed, even if there are efforts to reduce airpollution from other sources.In some plastic industries, workers exposed to high levels of fine plastic dust can develop lung disease leading to lung tissue scarring and compromised breathing. In this research, we seek to investigate this in greater detail, using a range of experimental (lung) models to determine the level of risk which exposure to environmental MNP air pollution presents, and the associated biological pathways leading to disease. We will do this by: 1. Quantifying exposure to past and present MNP by reanalysing old and analysing new air pollution samples for plastic. 2. Making different microplastic particles and fibres using milling, spinning and cutting techniques to ask controlled questions about the drivers of toxicity. The types of MNP materials will be based on those most commonly produced and found in the environment. 3. Evaluating the toxicity of inhaled MNP in the lung, using human relevant cell models and key markers of hazards posed by MNP to the lung. 4. Assess the longer term impacts of MNP inhalation on the development of lung tissue scarring in an animal model.This novel and multidisciplinary research will advance understanding on whether there are impacts of inhaled MNP in the lung and why. This is an increasingly important knowledge gap. Rising plastic production will contribute to the plastic component of air pollution in the long term. In the short term, plastic materials shed and we have no knowledge of what the impact of inhaling this material might be. The findings will be important for national and international governments because they will allow them to assess the risks of inhaling microplastics. It will highlight whether any interventions are required to minimise exposure in the future. Medical professionals will benefit from being aware of the potential hazards when treating individuals with respiratory illness. The findings will also help industry develop safer alternatives to plastic materials.