Impacts associated with the plastic polymers polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and polybutadiene across their life cycle: A review.

Polymers are the main building blocks of plastic, with the annual global production volume of fossil carbon-based polymers reaching over 457 million metric tons in 2019 and this figure is anticipated to triple by 2060. There is potential for environmental harm and adverse human health impacts associated with plastic, its constituent polymers and the chemicals therein, at all stages of the plastic life cycle, from extraction of raw materials, production and manufacturing, consumption, through to ultimate disposal and waste management. While there have been considerable research and policy efforts in identifying and mitigating the impacts associated with problematic plastic products such as single-use plastics and hazardous chemicals in plastics, with national and/or international regulations to phase out their use, plastic polymers are often overlooked.

The plastic health map: A systematic evidence map of human health studies on plastic-associated chemicals.

Background: The global production and use of plastic materials has increased dramatically since the 1960s and there is increasing evidence of human health impacts related to exposure to plastic-associated chemicals. There is, however, no comprehensive, regulatory, post-market monitoring for human health effects of plastic-associated chemicals or particles and it is unclear how many of these have been investigated for effects in humans, and therefore what the knowledge gaps are.

Objective: To create a systematic evidence map of peer-reviewed human studies investigating the potential effects of exposure to plastic-associated particles/chemicals on health to identify research gaps and provide recommendations for future research and regulation policy.

Topical application of an irreversible small molecule inhibitor of lysyl oxidases ameliorates skin scarring and fibrosis.

Scarring is a lifelong consequence of skin injury, with scar stiffness and poor appearance presenting physical and psychological barriers to a return to normal life. Lysyl oxidases are a family of enzymes that play a critical role in scar formation and maintenance. Lysyl oxidases stabilize the main component of scar tissue, collagen, and drive scar stiffness and appearance.

A scoping review protocol on in vivo human plastic exposure and health impacts.

Background: Global plastic production has increased exponentially since the 1960s, with more than 6300 million metric tons of plastic waste generated to date. Studies have found a range of human health outcomes associated with exposure to plastic chemicals. However, only a fraction of plastic chemicals used have been studied in vivo, and then often in animals, for acute toxicological effects.

Buy-now-pay-later: Hazards to human and planetary health from plastics production, use and waste.

More than 8 billion tonnes of plastic were produced between 1950 and 2015, that is 1 tonne for every man, woman and child on our planet. Global plastic production has been growing exponentially with an annual growth rate of 8.4% since 1950, equating to approximately 380 million tonnes per annum.

TGF-β-induced fibrotic stress increases G-quadruplex formation in human fibroblasts.

Scar formation after wound healing is a major medical problem. A better understanding of the dynamic nuclear architecture of the genome during wound healing could provide insights into the underlying pathophysiology and enable novel therapeutic strategies. Here, we demonstrate that TGF-β-induced fibrotic stress increases formation of the dynamic secondary DNA structures called G-quadruplexes in skin fibroblasts, which is coincident with increased expression of collagen 1.

Intracellular speciation of gold nanorods alters the conformational dynamics of genomic DNA.

Gold nanorods are one of the most widely explored inorganic materials in nanomedicine for diagnostics, therapeutics and sensing. It has been shown that gold nanorods are not cytotoxic and localize within cytoplasmic vesicles following endocytosis, with no nuclear localization, but other studies have reported alterations in gene expression profiles in cells following exposure to gold nanorods, via unknown mechanisms. In this work we describe a pathway that can contribute to this phenomenon.

Real-Time Bioimpedance Sensing of Antifibrotic Drug Action in Primary Human Cells.

Fibrotic diseases are among the most serious health issues with severe burdens due to their chronic nature and a large number of patients suffering from the debilitating effects and long-term sequelae. Collagenase treatment is a nonsurgical option but has limited results. To date, there is no potent noninvasive solution for fibrosis.

Enhancing the efficacy of cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor inhibitors by intracellular delivery.

Intracellular delivery of M6P/IGFII receptor inhibitors exhibits better efficacy than extracellular inhibitors to regulate TGFβ1 mediated upregulation of profibrotic marker, collagen I.