# The impact of microplastics exposure across lifespan on human colons

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR · 2024 · $100,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
In response to the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) NOT-CA-24-030, our research addresses the urgent
concern of escalating plastic pollution across the life course and across the cancer control continuum as an
administrative supplement to University of New Mexico Cancer Center Support Grant (P30CA118100, Current
Year 18). Despite numerous reports indicating the ubiquitous presence of plastics in the environment and
growing global concern for ecosystems and human health, plastic production and use continue to grow
unabatedly. Humans are exposed to plastic particles mainly through ingestion of contaminated food or water,
through inhalation, or through skin contact. Humans consume up to 5g (weight of a credit card) microplastics
weekly, and colonic epithelial cells will face the brunt of this contemporary modifiable exposure. Recent studies
provide evidence for the accumulation of microplastics in multiple human organs including the colon. Toxic
exposure to microplastics has been linked to the disruption of colonic epithelial cell structure and function.
Moreover, studies in different preclinical models including mice indicate that microplastics exposure leads to
various adverse intestinal effects including inflammation, barrier dysfunction, and microbial imbalance. Long-
standing intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress increase the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) development.
However, to date, there have been no studies investigating the influence of microplastics on colon tumor
growth and metastasis in vivo. Thus, investigation into the potential association between the environmental
microplastics exposure and the risk of CRC is merited. Our objective is to investigate the impact of
microplastics exposure across lifespan on human colons (n=64). We hypothesize that there's an increasing
trend in the uptake of plastics into human colon tissues over time, potentially impacting CRC risk. Our
hypothesis is based on our data showing that the most common microplastics in human colon tumors are
polyethylene (PE), and there is a positive correlation between microplastics concentration and patient age.
Moreover, PE and polystyrene (PS) are significantly increased in human colon tumors compared to normal
colon tissues from cadavers. The proposal integrates human relevance through archived colon tissues from
New Mexico's diverse and underprivileged population, as well as human colonoids (both normal and tumor).
This project aims to enhance our comprehension of the fundamental mechanisms underlying microplastics'
toxicity and identify actionable elements for community-level disease prevention and treatment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11078137
- **Project number:** 3P30CA118100-19S3
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Yolanda Sanchez
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $100,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2005-09-26 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11078137

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11078137, The impact of microplastics exposure across lifespan on human colons (3P30CA118100-19S3). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11078137. Licensed CC0.

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