Effects of micro and nano plastics on renal health

Core Tip

Core Tip: Microplastics and nanoplastics are emerging environmental contaminants capable of reaching the human kidney through ingestion, inhalation, and medical exposure. Experimental data reveal that microplastics accumulate in renal tissue, inducing oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammation, autophagy, and ferroptosis. Co-exposure with metals or plastic additives enhances nephrotoxicity, while early human findings confirm their presence in kidney tissue and dialysis fluids. This review integrates mechanistic, experimental, and clinical evidence, highlighting the kidney as a vulnerable target organ and calling for standardized detection methods, multi-omics approaches, and biomonitoring to assess the health burden of plastic exposure.