PET microplastics increase the risk of insulin resistance and pancreatitis

Microplastics and their effects on the body have recently been of great concern. Today it is clear that they are not indifferent to human health, but the full spectrum of their impact has not yet been fully described. Pancreatic diseases are becoming increasingly common worldwide, and their etiology is not well understood. Worryingly, these diseases have been increasingly diagnosed in children over the last 20 years, which was previously considered unusual. The aim of the study was therefore to determine the changes in the pancreas caused by PET microplastics in young organisms. For this purpose, the global metabolomic profile of the pancreas of piglets treated with a low (0.1 g/day) or high dose (1 g/day) of PET microplastics for 4 weeks was determined by UPLC-MS analysis. In addition, insulin levels and various biochemical parameters in the blood were analyzed. The study showed that PET microplastics affected the physiological processes in the pancreas at both low and high doses. We found that PET microplastics increased the tissue levels of important metabolites such as glucose, γ-aminobutyric acid, lysophosphatidylcholine or lysophosphatidylethanolamine. In addition, PET microplastics increased blood insulin concentrations and dose-dependently regulated lipase, cholesterol and calcium levels. These results suggest that PET microplastics increase the risk of insulin resistance and pancreatitis.