ReviewEnvironmental science & technology2025
The Human Plastiphere: A Bioparticulate System Challenging Microplastic Risk Assessment and Governance.
Review in Environmental science & technology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Advances in Male Reproductive Toxicology of Nanoplastics: Potential Risks to Human Reproduction-A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- A particle-resolved framework for quantifying microbial colonization and vector risk on environmental microplastics.Eco-Environment & Health · 2026Article
- Microplastics accumulate in human bile and drive cholangiocyte senescence.Environmental science and ecotechnology · 2026Article
- From the Gut to the Brain: Microplastic-Associated Neurovascular Dysfunction and Implications for Stroke Risk.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The infiltration of microplastics (MPs) into human tissues represents a paradigm shift in environmental health, transforming external pollution into internal biological integration. Drawing on 90 clinical studies (2016-2025), we define the human plastiphere as a bioparticulate system composed of nonendogenous plastic particles that accumulate, distribute, and interact with host tissues. This system displays key biological features: persistence (decade-scale tissue retention), organized distribution (organotropism across 63 human biological compartments), and active biological engagement (e.g., cardiovascular, reproductive, and metabolic interference). We identify eight unresolved paradoxes─ranging from size-defying barrier penetration to absent toxicity thresholds─that highlight critical gaps in synthetic particle biology. The plastiphere challenges conventional toxicology by showing that MPs: (1) follow selective biological rules (e.g., vascular trafficking) while violating others (e.g., phagocytic clearance), and (2) form a measurable, transgenerational burden with escalating health risks as plastic production continues to rise. To address this emerging bioparticulate phenomenon, we propose three urgent actions: harmonized detection protocols, polymer-specific safety thresholds, and source-targeted policy interventions. The plastiphere, both as a biological system and a conceptual framework, offers a roadmap for advancing science from descriptive detection to health-relevant, mechanistically grounded, and policy-actionable solutions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.