微塑料污染是一个新兴的环境问题，对动物和人类健康构成严重威胁。微塑料通过鼻腔、皮肤和口腔途径进入人体，污染多个器官。研究表明，人类母乳、痰液、粪便和血液中都存在微塑料。微塑料可以通过主动和被动的方法进入亚细胞部分。在细胞水平上，微塑料遵循网格蛋白和小窝依赖的途径侵入亚细胞环境。这些环境污染物调节基因表达的表观遗传控制、炎症介质的状态、氧化还原稳态、细胞周期蛋白，并模仿雌激素和雄激素等内分泌介质来促进致癌作用。此外，流行病学研究表明，接触微塑料与慢性疾病的发病之间存在潜在联系。微塑料会引发不受控制的细胞增殖和随后的组织生长，导致影响肺部、血液、乳房、前列腺和卵巢的各种癌症。此外，这种污染可能会影响亚细胞信号传导并损伤多个器官。本质上，许多报告都声称微塑料在人类和模型动物中引起毒性和肿瘤发生。尽管如此，潜在的分子机制仍然难以捉摸，值得进一步研究。本综述对微塑料进行了全面分析，涵盖其来源、化学成分、人类接触途径、毒性和分子水平的致癌潜力。版权所有 © 2024。由 Elsevier Inc. 出版。

Microplastic contamination is a burgeoning environmental issue that poses serious threats to animal and human health. Microplastics enter the human body through nasal, dermal, and oral routes to contaminate multiple organs. Studies have advocated the existence of microplastics in human breast milk, sputum, faeces, and blood. Microplastics can find their ways to the sub-cellular moiety via active and passive approaches. At cellular level, microplastics follow clathrin and caveolae-dependent pathways to invade the sub-cellular environment. These environmental contaminants modulate the epigenetic control of gene expression, status of inflammatory mediators, redox homeostasis, cell-cycle proteins, and mimic the endocrine mediators like estrogen and androgen to fuel carcinogenesis. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have suggested potential links between the exposure to microplastics and the onset of chronic diseases. Microplastics trigger uncontrolled cell proliferation and ensuing tissue growth leading to various cancers affecting the lungs, blood, breasts, prostate, and ovaries. Additionally, such contamination can potentially affect sub-cellular signaling and injure multiple organs. In essence, numerous reports have claimed microplastic-induced toxicity and tumorigenesis in human and model animals. Nonetheless, the underlying molecular mechanism is still elusive and warrants further investigations. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of microplastics, covering their sources, chemistry, human exposure routes, toxicity, and carcinogenic potential at the molecular level.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.