Rui Li
Toxicologist at Central China Normal University in Wuhan who leads mouse studies of how early-life exposure to microplastics, nanoplastics and plastic additives harms the developing brain
Key Laboratory of Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University
Rui Li is the senior (last) author of YANG2026. Young children take in tiny plastic particles from bottles, toys and food containers, often together with DEHP, a chemical that makes plastic soft. In this study, young mice exposed to polypropylene microplastics and DEHP developed brain and behaviour changes that resemble features of autism spectrum disorder, including reduced social behaviour. In their brains mTOR was overactive and autophagy, the cell's recycling system that mTOR normally restrains, was impaired. Treating the mice with rapamycin restored autophagy and improved the social and behavioural problems. The work is in mice, so it shows a possible mechanism, not proof that plastic exposure causes autism in children.
PubMed lists Li as senior author of a series of papers from the School of Life Sciences at Central China Normal University on plastic pollution and the young brain. In 2023 the group reported that combined exposure to polypropylene microplastics and DEHP caused memory problems, damage in the hippocampus and inflammation in young mice, through a long-lasting stress response in the protein-folding system. In 2025, in ACS Nano, the group showed that polystyrene nanoplastics disturb protein balance in the brain partly through changes in gut bacteria, with the sugar trehalose acting as a link between gut and brain.
Because Li is a very common surname, only papers from this Central China Normal University group were counted. No official profile could be checked, so academic rank and training are not given.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | A | Early-life exposure to polypropylene microplastics and DEHP induces ASD-relevant neurodevelopmental alterations involving mTOR-regulated autophagy impairment YANG2026 Senior author: led the mouse study linking early-life microplastic and DEHP exposure to mTOR overactivity, impaired autophagy and autism-like behaviour, which rapamycin reversed. |
Co-authors in the Atlas 4
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Rui Li.
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- Ge Yang Researcher in Rui Li's group at Central China Normal University who has led mouse studies on how microplastics, nanoplastics and the plasticiser DEHP affect the young brain
- Ling Zhang Contributed to a 2026 toxicology study linking early-life exposure to microplastics and the plasticiser DEHP to autism-relevant brain changes through impaired mTOR-regulated autophagy
- Xiaojie Sun Contributed to a 2026 toxicology study linking early-life exposure to microplastics and the plasticiser DEHP to autism-relevant brain changes through impaired mTOR-regulated autophagy
- Yifei Wang Environmental toxicologist who contributed to a study of how early-life exposure to food-contact microplastics and a common plasticiser disrupts brain development through mTOR signalling
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