Data Sheet 1_Microplastic exposure is associated with enhanced PI3K-Akt signaling in DSS-induced colitis: integrated bioinformatics analyses and in vivo validation.pdf

Background<p>Microplastics (MPs) are widely distributed in the environment and may aggravate ulcerative colitis (UC), but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear.</p>Methods<p>We integrated network toxicology, RNA-seq-based differential expression analysis, molecular docking, GeneMANIA-based functional association analysis, and experimental validation in a murine DSS-induced colitis model.</p>Results<p>We identified 421 MP-related and 6,452 UC-related targets, including 265 overlapping targets.

PIK3CD, PIK3CA, SRC, PTPN11, and EGFR were prioritized as hub targets with stable ligand binding. Enrichment analyses implicated the PI3K-Akt, JAK-STAT, T-cell receptor, and HIF-1 signaling pathways. In vivo experiments showed that MP exposure increased the colonic abundance of these five proteins and enhanced p-PI3K and p-AKT signals in DSS-induced colitis.</p>Conclusion<p>MP exposure is associated with enhanced PI3K-Akt signaling in experimental colitis.