Microplastics and Macrophages: Investigating Uptake, Inflammatory Responses, and Physicochemical Influences on Homeostasis.
Macrophages, fundamental innate immune cells, play a crucial role in sustaining intestinal homeostasis.
When considering their function in the intestinal microenvironment, it is impossible to overlook the impact of microplastics, which represent pervasive environmental contaminants disrupting immune balance and contributing to inflammatory disease pathogenesis.
These particles inevitably impair macrophage clearance and regulatory capacities. Physicochemical properties, such as size, shape, surface chemistry, and composition, are among the many variables modulating their biological effects, including potential synergies or antagonisms with bioactive compounds influencing immune and metabolic pathways.
The objectives of this project are to:
I. Monitor the uptake of microplastic particles in porcine intestinal macrophages across multiple time points.
II. Quantify key inflammatory and regulatory markers, cytotoxicity, and stress responses via qPCR.
III. Comprehensively characterize the physicochemical and functional properties of the microplastics.
IV. Correlate these properties with biological effects, elucidating disruptions in intestinal immunity.
It is hypothesized that microplastics perturb macrophage function and intestinal homeostasis, with severity dependent on particle attributes, though bioactive compounds may counteract these effects to preserve immune-metabolic balance.
This research illuminates underlying mechanisms of inflammatory disease, paving the way for targeted interventions against microplastic-induced immunotoxicity. This international mobility was funded through the Erasmus programme.
Graduation in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca – August 2024, with a thesis entitled “The Effect of Doxorubicin-Loaded Nanolipocomplexes on Tumor Cells”.
Supervisor: Prof. Adela PINTEA, Prof. Luciana Rossi (Erasmus Supervisor).
Co-supervisor: Prof. Flaviu Al. Tabaran, Conf. Dumitrita Rugina, Conf. Alina Sesarman.
