Backed by a grant from the Presbyterian Health Foundation, two Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists will investigate how microplastics affect ovarian health.
By the end of their one-year study, scientists Jake Kirkland, Ph.D., and Michael Stout, Ph.D., hope to determine whether microplastics damage ovarian cells, leading to female infertility. Their $123,000 grant was among 13 projects totaling $1 million in PHF’s most recent round of funding to OMRF.
“Previous studies have shown that microplastics cause fibrosis and inflammation in the ovaries,” said Stout, whose OMRF lab studies reproductive aging and the role of sex hormones in chronic disease. “The downstream result is impairment to ovulation and fertility. We’re trying to better understand that connection.”
The effects of microplastics on health is an emerging area of biomedical research. Microplastics are tiny – in some cases, 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair. They come from products like synthetic clothing fibers and cosmetics or sometimes result from larger plastic items like grocery bags or bottles that break apart.
Microplastics in cosmetics can be absorbed through the skin. People can breathe in the tiny plastic particles floating in the air, and we consume them through both food and drink.
“They’re in almost every level of the food chain, so you’ve probably ingested them in your meat or through fruits and vegetables,” Kirkland said. “They’ve also ended up in much of the world’s water supply.”
Recent research has showed that microplastics can travel through the bloodstream and accumulate in ovarian fluid, eventually finding their way into individual ovary cells.
Their study will involve the effects on the ovaries of female mice from microplastics collected from a beach in Hawaii, where winds and currents cause high accumulations of the debris. Future experiments could involve observing changes in human ovarian cells, Kirkland said.
The OMRF scientists’ end goal is to prevent the plastics from entering ovarian cells – and, thus, protecting the reproductive process from their impact.
In addition to this study, PHF’s funding package also will support OMRF research of Alzheimer’s, heart disease and abnormal post-surgical scarring.
The Presbyterian Health Foundation was established in 1985 with proceeds from the sale of Presbyterian Hospital in Oklahoma City. Since then, the foundation has awarded more than $240 million to advance biomedical research, medical education and health innovation in Oklahoma.
The foundation emphasizes funding preliminary research that produces results needed to compete for larger grants. OMRF’s microplastics project typifies that approach, said April Stuart, PHF’s director of grants and programs.
“Previous studies have identified a connection between microplastics and ovarian dysfunction, but they haven’t yet established causation,” Stuart said. “This PHF funding gives Drs. Kirkland and Stout a chance to develop the evidence needed to better understand that connection and potentially position their idea for a longer, more in-depth study.”
