# Defining the Harmful Effects of Microplastics on Gastrointestinal Health

> **NIH NIH R56** · UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR · 2020 · $112,499

## Abstract

Program Director/Principal Investigator: Castillo, Eliseo, F
PROJECT SUMMARY
Plastic pollution and the breakdown of plastic materials primarily into micron-sized microplastic particles (MP)
have contaminated our food and water sources, raising public health concerns. MP ingestion by humans is
now an inevitable consequence of global plastic pollution and there is a critical gap in knowledge as to how MP
impact human health (WHO). There is also an important gap in knowledge regarding how MP affect the major
direct organ of contact, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The studies proposed in this grant application seek to
bridge this gap in environmental health knowledge and provide insight into how MP pose a significant health
risk to the general population as well as susceptible (i.e. Inflammatory Bowel Disease; IBD) individuals. The
goals of this application are to investigate how MP induce cellular changes in both intestinal epithelial cells and
macrophages and to determine how these MP-induced changes in cellular pathways can lead to intestinal
permeability, dysbiosis and an inflammatory state. Our preliminary data challenges the current stance of WHO
that is not possible to draw any firm conclusions on MP toxicity to humans. To challenge this statement, we will
utilize human intestinal organoids, primary human macrophages and animal models to understand the
consequence of MP ingestion. Based on our preliminary studies, we advance a novel hypothesis that MP
ingestion indeed pose a human health hazard by disrupting oxidative metabolism in both epithelial cells and
macrophages subsequently causing intestinal permeability, dysbiosis, and an immunometabolic active state
which could lead to intestinal inflammation. Additionally, we hypothesize MP ingestion pose a significant health
risk to individuals that have an underlying condition such as intestinal inflammation as seen in IBD patients. In
aim 1, we will establish how MP contribute to intestinal permeability through cellular metabolic changes in the
epithelium and gut metabolome. In Aim 2, we will determine the effects of MP on the GI tract of a susceptible
host. Aim 3 will delineate the mechanism of MP modulation of human macrophage metabolism and its impact
on the intestinal barrier. The information generated from this project would be a ground-breaking step with
important long-term implications in understanding how MP can affect intestinal homeostasis through
modulation of epithelial and macrophage function and overall human health.
Project Summary Page

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10260984
- **Project number:** 1R56ES032037-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Eliseo F Castillo
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $112,499
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-21 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10260984

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10260984, Defining the Harmful Effects of Microplastics on Gastrointestinal Health (1R56ES032037-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10260984. Licensed CC0.

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