Abstract Airborne microplastics from a variety of sources, including textiles and environmental degradation, pose a challenging problem due to their ability to infiltrate respiratory tissues and trigger inflammatory response. Microplastics may contribute to respiratory impairment and other respiratory-related problems. Airborne microplastics influence the lung metabolism and toxic mechanism reactions that are interpreted using human responsive biomarkers for airway inflammation. This study aims to evaluate the airborne microplastic exposure influences on human responsive biomarkers. This study employs systematic scoping review using PRISMA to explore human biomarkers response to airborne microplastic exposure. The reviewed publications are from databases like ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Papers were selected using four keywords: “airborne microplastic”, “human biomarker”, “biological response”, and “health effects” with associated synonyms. A total of 14 publications met the inclusion criteria for this scoping review, comprising 7 from ScienceDirect, 4 from PubMed, 2 from Google Scholar, and 1 from SpringerLink. Among the 14 studies reviewed, polystyrene (PS) was reported in 46% of the studies, polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were each reported in 15%, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in 8%, and other microplastic types were reported in 15% of the studies, noting that some studies examined more than one polymer type. Previous research showed a significant relationship between asthma symptoms and biomarkers such as TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17 and IL-1β in human lung cells and other studies related to human and animal respiratory systems. 6 out of 14 reviewed articles have investigated biological responses and disease mechanisms using mice, a reliable mammalian model for comparison with human systems. Standardizing human-responsive biomarkers, such as IL-6 and IL-8 which are commonly used for airborne microplastic exposure, will improve early detection of airway inflammation and strengthen environmental health risk assessments, thus leading to policy development. The consistent biomarker thresholds and measurement protocols facilitate the comparison of exposure levels, identification of at-risk populations, and development of evidence-based guidelines to mitigate microplastic-related health impacts. Graphical Abstract
Joshua et al. (Wed,) studied this question.