Py-GC/MS Detects Microplastics in Pediatric Asthma Patients

Breathing in microplastics (MPs) is increasingly suspected of playing a role in long-term breathing problems, but scientists still do not have a clear picture of how much of this plastic builds up in the lungs of children with asthma, or how it might relate to their condition. To investigate this, a team of researchers from Fudan University (Shanghai, China) studied mucus (sputum) samples coughed up by 46 children with asthma, using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) to quantify six common types of plastic. The researchers then checked whether the amount of plastic found was connected to how well each child's asthma was under control, how well their lungs were functioning, and how much inflammation was present in their airways. To dig deeper into how these plastics might affect lung tissue, they also grew miniature, laboratory-grown versions of lung tissue using cells donated by the patients, exposed them to polyethylene, and then examined which genes were switched on or off in response. Their findings were published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Study.¹

What Are Microplastics, and Why Might They Be Relevant to Childhood Asthma and Lung Disease?

MPs are tiny plastic fragments that show up basically everywhere in the environment, formed when larger plastic items break down bit by bit over their lifespan.² The world now produces more than 460 million tons of plastic every year, and that number is expected to keep climbing, meaning even more microplastic pollution is likely on the way.³

Asthma is the most common long-term breathing condition in children, marked by inflamed airways, airways that overreact to triggers, and breathing difficulty that can improve with treatment.⁴ Growing evidence suggests that microplastics might act as an "environmental trigger" that shapes how lung diseases develop and progress.⁵ For example, one study found microplastics in fluid taken from the lungs of children with lung conditions, and children with severe pneumonia had even higher amounts of microplastics than others, hinting that there could be a real connection between microplastic exposure and how severe a lung disease becomes.⁶

How Much Microplastic Is in Asthmatic Children's Airways, and How Might It Affect Their Disease?

The researchers found that every one of the 46 children's mucus samples contained microplastics, with a typical (median) total amount of about 21 micrograms per milliliter. One type of plastic, polystyrene, showed up in all the samples, making it the most common. Meanwhile, another type, polyethylene, was present in the highest overall amounts on average.¹

Study participants whose asthma was poorly controlled had noticeably higher levels of microplastics in their mucus compared to those whose asthma was well managed. In general, the more plastic found in a child's airways, the worse their lung function tended to be, including how much air they could forcefully exhale in one second, how much air they could exhale overall, and how well their asthma symptoms were controlled based on a standard questionnaire.¹

When the researchers exposed the laboratory-grown lung tissue to polyethylene particles, nearly 1300 genes changed how active they were. Many of these genes were tied to processes involved in cell stress and cell death, a tumor-suppressing pathway that regulates how cells respond to damage, and networks of inflammatory signals, which suggests that the plastic exposure may be triggering harmful cellular responses in lung tissue.¹

“Respiratory MPs burden,” write the authors of this paper,¹ “is universal in this pediatric asthma cohort and associates with poor disease control. Exploratory transcriptomic analysis nominates ferroptosis-associated and pro-inflammatory pathways as candidate mechanisms warranting functional validation in future work.”

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References

1. Wang, Q.; Feng, R.; Yuan, Y. et al. Microplastics in Pediatric Asthma: Clinical Associations with Disease Severity. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2026, 323, 120676. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2026.120676
2. Borrelle, S. B.; Ringma, J.; Law, K. L. et al. Predicted Growth in Plastic Waste Exceeds Efforts to Mitigate Plastic Pollution. Science 2020, 369 (6510), 1515-1518. DOI: 10.1126/science.aba3656
3. Zhang, Q.; Wang, Q.; Xu, J. et al. Detection and Fate of Microplastics and Nanoplastics and Technologies for Their Removal. Molecules 2026, 31 (4), 613. DOI: 10.3390/molecules31040613
4. Conrad, L. A.; Cabana, M. D.; Rastogi, D. Defining Pediatric Asthma: Phenotypes to Endotypes and Beyond. Pediatr Res. 2021, 90 (1), 45-51. DOI: 10.1038/s41390-020-01231-6
5. Epeslidou, E.; Scott, J. S.; de Klein, B. et al. Microplastics as Environmental Modifiers of Lung Disease. EMBO Mol Med. 2026, 18 (2), 381-395. DOI: 10.1038/s44321-025-00353-w
6. Chen, C.; Liu, F.; Quan, S. et al. Microplastics in the Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid of Chinese Children: Associations with Age, City Development, and Disease Features. Environ Sci Technol. 2023, 57 (34), 12594-12601. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01771