SCIENTIFIC HUB

Follow the evidence.

SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE · MED

Micro- and nanoplastics influences in Parkinson's disease: lessons from human stem cell models.

Front Toxicol · 2026-03-26

DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2026.1723092PMID: 41960285

Open accessreview-article; Review; Journal ArticleOriginal source ↗

Research overview

The text below is the source article’s original abstract under a verified reuse license. cc by

Neuroinflammatory contributions play a critical role in Parkinson's disease onset and progression. Key drivers of neuroinflammation include glial cell reactivity, cytokine signaling, protein aggregation, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Although animal models have been extensively used to investigate the mechanisms, their translational relevance is limited because neuroinflammation in humans is typically chronic, heterogeneous, and sustained over years, whereas in rodents is often acute, transient, and resolves within days to weeks. This paper highlights the utility of human stem cell-derived models in studying Parkinson's disease by recapitulating patient-specific genetic mutations, neuroinflammatory microglia-neuron interactions, α-synuclein aggregation, and dopaminergic dysfunction, thereby enabling mechanistic studies in the human-relevant models. In addition, we examine how micro- and nanoplastics may exacerbate neuroinflammation in PD. This review concludes by highlighting how human-relevant stem cell-based approaches advance mechanistic understanding of Parkinson's disease.

Scientific assessment

01

Research question

Assess the question within the original study’s scope.

02

Methods & sample

Check the source article for study design and sample details.

03

Key findings

An editorially approved findings summary is not yet published for this record.

04

Limitations

Generalizability, bias and clinical meaning require separate assessment.

Methods, samples and clinical conclusions are not inferred from bibliographic metadata.