Environmental pollutants & the gut microbiota: mechanistic links from exposure to systemic disease 🧵

▶️This review integrates recent advances on how air pollutants, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, & emerging contaminants perturb microbial composition, metabolic activity, & host-microbe signaling.

▶️Pollutant exposure alters microbial-derived metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, and tryptophan derivatives, thereby impairing intestinal barrier integrity & immune homeostasis.
▶️These microbiota-driven disturbances trigger oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, & neuroendocrine dysregulation, contributing to metabolic disorders, immune imbalance, neurotoxicity, & carcinogenesis.
doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.… @HealthyFellow
Functional roles and origins of the gut microbiota Schematic representation of major environmental pollutants and their entry pathways affecting human health, particularly via gut microbiota. Diverse pollutants including atmospheric (e.g., PM2.5, NOx, O3), waterborne, soil-based, radioactive, light, and noise pollution can influence host physiology. Airborne pollutants such as sulfur-containing compounds (NO2, H2S), nitrogen-containing gases (NH3, NOx), photochemical oxidants (O3, PAN), particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) enter primarily through inhalation and systemic absorption. These exposures disrupt multiple organs, particularly the lungs, liver, and gastrointestinal tract, where they may perturb gut microbial homeostasis.