Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40060808›Full record

ArticleACS omega2025

Mixture Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics on the Gut Microbiota in C57BL/6 Mice.

Bei Gao, Xiaochun Shi, Meng Zhao, Fangfang Ren, Weichen Xu, Nan Gao, Jinjun Shan, Weishou Shen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ACS omega, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Bei GaoSchool of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3321-2339
Xiaochun ShiSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
Meng ZhaoSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
Fangfang RenSchool of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China.
Weichen XuMedical Metabolomics Center, Institute of Pediatrics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respiratory Disease, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
Nan GaoSchool of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China.
Jinjun ShanMedical Metabolomics Center, Institute of Pediatrics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respiratory Disease, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8079-7950
Weishou ShenSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9452-5665

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microplastics are plastic particles with sizes of less than 5 mm. The ubiquity of microplastics in the environment has raised serious public health concerns. Microplastics could disturb the composition of the gut microbiota due to both chemical composition and physical interactions, which might further influence the metabolism and immune function of the host. However, most of the exposure studies chose microplastics of specific sizes. In the natural environment, living organisms are exposed to a mixture of microplastics of various sizes. In this study, male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to polystyrene (PS) microplastics with different sizes, including microplastics with diameters of 0.05-0.1 μm (PS0.1 group, 100 ppb), 9-10 μm (PS10 group, 100 ppb), and microplastic mixtures of both 0.05-0.1 and 9-10 μm (PSMix group) at a total concentration of 100 ppb (50 ppb for each size). Mixture effects of microplastics were investigated on the composition of bacteria and fungi as well as functional metagenome and microbial genes encoding antibiotic resistance and virulence factors. We found that some bacteria, fungi, and microbial metabolic pathways were only altered in the PSMix group, not in the PS0.1 or PS10 group, suggesting the toxic effects of the microplastic mixture on the composition of fungi and bacteria, and the functional metagenome is different from the effects of microplastics at specific sizes. Meanwhile, altered genes encoding antibiotic resistance and virulence factors in the PSMix group were shared with the PS0.1 and PS10 groups, possibly due to functional redundancy. Our findings help improve the understanding of the toxic effects of the microplastic mixture on the gut microbiome.

Identifiers

PMID40060808
PMCPMC11886427

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.