Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42530798›Full record

ArticleMolecular diversity2026

Polyamide-66 microplastics and early-onset ischemic stroke: a systems toxicology, multi-omics, and molecular dynamics simulation analysis.

Qiu-Han Xu, Zhao-Hui Chai, Jian-Cheng Jin, Yu-Ning Zhang, Jian Shen

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular diversity, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Qiu-Han Xu *Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310003, People's Republic of China.
Zhao-Hui Chai *Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310003, People's Republic of China.
Jian-Cheng Jin *Department of Neurosurgery, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yiwu, China, People's Republic.
Yu-Ning ZhangDepartment of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310003, People's Republic of China.
Jian ShenDepartment of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310003, People's Republic of China. 1314006@zju.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rates of early-onset ischemic stroke (EOS) are rising even as incidence falls at older ages. Microplastics have recently been identified as a novel stroke risk factor, and among polymers detected in human arterial thrombi from ischemic stroke, polyamide-66 (PA66) microplastics show the highest detection frequency, with microplastic burden positively correlating with stroke severity. Here, using an integrative in silico framework, we integrate systems toxicology with multi-omics causal inference to map PA66-brain pathways in EOS. Target prediction for PA66 combined with curated stroke genes yielded 12 shared proteins enriched in platelet-endothelial and blood-brain barrier pathways. Brain protein-QTL two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) identified 43 EOS-associated proteins (20 risk, 23 protective); intersecting with the 12 candidates prioritized a single overlap, EPHX2. Higher genetically proxied brain EPHX2 associated with lower EOS risk (odds ratio, OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.71-0.98), with the strongest signal for small-artery occlusion (OR 0.50; 0.26-0.96). Cell type-resolved sc-eQTL MR supported an astrocytic association (EPHX2 expression in astrocytes OR 0.925; 0.868-0.986; P = 0.016). Two-step MR implicated metabolites downstream of EPHX2-glycosyl-N-ceramide (d18:1/24:1) increased with brain EPHX2 (OR 1.205; P = 0.0073) and were inversely associated with EOS due to small-artery occlusion (OR 0.563; P = 0.049). Molecular docking placed PA66 in the canonical inhibitor pocket of soluble epoxide hydrolase, and 100-ns molecular dynamics supported a stable, pocket-bound pose. Mouse-model phenome queries for Ephx2 knockout highlighted Gene Ontology shifts in hydrolase activity, lipid metabolism and homeostasis, consistent with disrupted lipid-epoxide signaling relevant to neurovascular integrity. Single-cell RNA-seq in young-mouse stroke datasets localized Ephx2 to astrocytes and showed post-stroke downregulation. Together, these findings nominate an astrocytic EPHX2-sphingolipid axis as a plausible route by which PA66 microplastics may promote premature stroke, providing a mechanistic basis for hazard assessment and mitigation.

Indexed as

AstrocytesBlood-brain barrierEPHX2Ischemic strokeMicroplasticsPolyamide 66

Identifiers

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.