Microplastics may become an additional risk factor in the treatment and prevention of bone diseases.
It turned out that plastic particles can penetrate bone tissue and affect its health.
Plastic waste, which amounts to more than 400 million tons each year, has long been polluting oceans, rivers and coasts, and now scientists are increasingly finding them in the human body. If microplastics were previously recorded in the blood, brain, placenta, breast milk, now for the first time its presence has been proven in bones, reports Science Daily.
The study, which reviewed 62 scientific papers, showed that microplastics can harm bone tissue, in particular, disrupt the work of bone marrow stem cells and promote the formation of osteoclasts – cells that destroy bone through the process of resorption.
“In experiments on cells, microplastics have been shown to reduce their viability, accelerate aging, alter differentiation and stimulate inflammatory processes,” explained Rodrigo Bueno de Oliveira, head of the Laboratory of Mineral and Bone Research in Nephrology at the School of Medicine of the University of Campinas (Brazil).
Animal studies have also confirmed the ability of accelerated osteoclast aging to disrupt the microstructure of bones, leading to their weakening, deformation and even pathological fractures. In some cases, skeletal growth has been observed to stop.
The scientists emphasize that the impact of microplastics on bone mechanics is not yet fully understood, but data indicate that the particles can penetrate deep into the bone marrow and alter its metabolism. Oliveira’s team is now launching a project to study exactly how microplastics affect bone strength using animal models.
According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, the number of fractures related to osteoporosis worldwide will increase by 32% by 2050. Researchers suggest that microplastics may be an additional risk factor that should be considered in the treatment and prevention of bone diseases.