Most disposable plastic products are degraded slowly in the natural environment and continually turned to microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), posing additional environmental hazards. The toxicological assessment of MPs for marine organisms and mammals has been reported. Thus, there is an urgent need to be aware of the harm of MPs to the human immune system and more studies about immunological assessments. This review focuses on how MPs are produced and how they may interact with the environment and our body, particularly their immune responses and immunotoxicity. MPs can be taken up by cells, thus disrupting the intracellular signaling pathways, altering the immune homeostasis and finally causing damage to tissues and organs. The generation of reactive oxygen species is the mainly toxicological mechanisms after MP exposure, which may further induce the production of danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and associate with the processes of toll-like receptors (TLRs) disruption, cytokine production, and inflammatory responses in immune cells. MPs effectively interact with cell membranes or intracellular proteins to form a protein-corona, and combine with external pollutants, chemicals, and pathogens to induce greater toxicity and strong adverse effects. A comprehensive research on the immunotoxicity effects and mechanisms of MPs, including various chemical compositions, shapes, sizes, combined exposure and concentrations, is worth to be studied. Therefore, it is urgently needed to further elucidate the immunological hazards and risks of humans that exposed to MPs.

Microplastics (MP) pollution is a global issue that raises concerns about potential toxicity for environmental and human health. The notion that SARS-CoV-2 is more stable when adsorbed on plastic surfaces...

, the most abundant tea polyphenol, possesses excellent anti-inflammation properties. Emerging studies proved its potent potential as an immune checkpoint (ICP) inhibitor for anticancer therapy. However, the low bioavailability of EGCG reduces its treatment efficiency. In this work EGCG-based nanomedicine EGCG−ZIF-8@PDA−PEG (EZP) was developed via the coordination between ZIF-8 MOF and EGCG, followed by polydopamine and PEG functionalization for efficient tumor-targeting EGCG delivery. Results demonstrated that the EGCG loading rate in EZP reached up to 85%. Both in vitro and in vivo studies proved that the EZP nanoparticles were capable of inhibiting the expression of ICP molecules and modulating the inflammatory tumor microenvironment, evidenced by the suppression of PD-L1 expression, the reduction of inflammatory cytokines, and the resultant decline in the number of immunosuppressive cells, for instance, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, tumor-associated macrophages, and regulatory T cells. These synergistic effects significantly improved the infiltration of dendritic cells and T cells in tumors, realizing an inspiring antitumor effect.

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) to which humans are exposed intentionally as nanomedicines or unintentionally as invaders, may elicit unforeseen immune reactions. An uncontrollable ENM‐induced immune response poses a potential danger to the human body. During an immunological reaction, interleukin (IL)‐1 family cytokines, which play key roles under both physiological and pathological conditions, can be secreted by various types of cells into the surrounding environment to induce a series of defensive reactions. However, the crucial roles played by IL‐1 family cytokines in ENM‐induced immunological responses have not attracted enough attention from researchers to date. In this review, ENM‐mediated inflammatory responses and immunotoxicity are discussed, with the main focus directed to IL‐1 family cytokines, including IL‐1α, IL‐1β, IL‐1Ra, IL‐18, IL‐33, IL‐36, IL‐37, and IL‐38. The potential molecular mechanisms of IL‐1 family cytokine activity triggered by ENMs, particularly the activation of IL‐1α, IL‐1β, IL‐18, and IL‐33, are also reviewed. The understanding of IL‐1 family cytokines on nanoimmunosafety provides a fundamental basis for designing safe ENMs that can potentially be used for nanomedicine.This article is categorized under: Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Toxicology of Nanomaterials

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