Nano-Selenium Modulates NF-κB/NLRP3 Pathway and Mitochondrial Dynamics to Attenuate Microplastic-Induced Liver Injury.

BACKGROUND: Microplastics (PS-MPs) are a new type of pollutant with definite hepatotoxicity. Selenium, on the other hand, has natural, protective effects on the liver. OBJECTIVES/METHODS: The purpose of this experiment is to find out whether nano-selenium (SeNP) can alleviate liver damage caused by microplastics. Initially, we established through in vitro experiments that SeNP has the ability to enhance the growth of healthy mouse liver cells, while microplastics exhibit a harmful impact on normal mouse hepatocyte cell suspensions, leading to a decrease in cell count. Subsequently, through in vivo experiments on male ICR mice, we ascertained that SeNPs alleviated the detrimental impacts of PS-MPs on mouse liver. RESULTS: SeNPs hinder the signaling pathway of NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammatory vesicles, which is crucial for reducing inflammation induced by PS-MPs. In terms of their mechanism, SeNPs hinder the abnormalities in mitochondrial fission, biogenesis, and fusion caused by PS-MPs and additionally enhance mitochondrial respiration. This enhancement is crucial in averting disorders in energy metabolism and inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: To summarize, the use of SeNPs hindered inflammation by regulating mitochondrial dynamics, thus relieving liver damage caused by PS-MPs in mice. The anticipated outcomes offer new research directions that can be referenced in terms of inflammatory injuries caused by PS-MPs.