Big-eaters choking? Macrophages can't stomach microplastics

Luke A Neufeld; Zhe Qi Liu; Tracy L McGaha

doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2026.02.009

Big-eaters choking? Macrophages can't stomach microplastics

Immunity. 2026 Mar 10;59(3):509-511. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2026.02.009.

Authors

Luke A Neufeld¹, Zhe Qi Liu¹, Tracy L McGaha²

Affiliations

¹ Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Immunology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Immunology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address: tracy.mcgaha@uhn.ca.

PMID: 41812638
DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2026.02.009

Abstract

Microplastics are detectable in diverse human tissues, yet their biological impact remains unclear. In this issue of Immunity, Codo et al.¹ dissect the mechanisms involved and find that polystyrene microplastics inhibit tissue-resident phagocyte clearance of dead cells, resulting in concerning consequences for organ function.

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MeSH terms

Animals
Humans
Macrophages* / immunology
Microplastics*
Phagocytosis / immunology
Polystyrenes*

Substances

Microplastics
Polystyrenes