Morphological and lipid metabolism alterations in macrophages exposed to model environmental nanoplastics traced by high-resolution synchrotron techniques

Frontiers in Immunology

Immunology

Giovanni Birarda¹  Alessandra Gianoncelli¹  Valentina Bonanni¹  Giacomo Ceccone²  Domenico Cassano²  Rita La Spina²  Chiara Agostinis³  Lorella Pascolo³  Giuseppe Ricci⁴  Federica Zingaro⁵ 

[1] Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, Trieste, Italy;European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy;Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy;Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy;Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Science, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy;Physics Department, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy;

关键词: polypropylene;    polyvinyl chloride;    nanoplastics (NPs);    macrophages (M1);    lipid metabolism;    XRF;    FTIR;    CdSe-QDs;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fimmu.2023.1247747

 received in 2023-06-26, accepted in 2023-08-14,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The release of nanoplastics (NPs) in the environment is a significant health concern for long-term exposed humans. Although their usage has certainly revolutionized several application fields, at nanometer size, NPs can easily interact at the cellular level, resulting in potential harmful effects. Micro/Nanoplastics (M/NPs) have a demonstrated impact on mammalian endocrine components, such as the thyroid, adrenal gland, testes, and ovaries, while more investigations on prenatal and postnatal exposure are urgently required. The number of literature studies on the NPs’ presence in biological samples is increasing. However, only a few offer a close study on the model environmental NP–immune system interaction exploited by advanced microscopy techniques. The present study highlights substantial morphological and lipid metabolism alterations in human M1 macrophages exposed to labeled polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride nanoparticles (PP and PVC NPs) (20 μg/ml). The results are interpreted by advanced microscopy techniques combined with standard laboratory tests and fluorescence microscopy. We report the accurate detection of polymeric nanoparticles doped with cadmium selenide quantum dots (CdSe-QDs NPs) by following the Se (L line) X-ray fluorescence emission peak at higher sub-cellular resolution, compared to the supportive light fluorescence microscopy. In addition, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) imaging successfully revealed morphological changes in NP-exposed macrophages, providing input for Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analyses, which underlined the chemical modifications in macromolecular components, specifically in lipid response. The present evidence was confirmed by quantifying the lipid droplet (LD) contents in PP and PVC NPs-exposed macrophages (0–100 μg/ml) by Oil Red O staining. Hence, even at experimental NPs' concentrations and incubation time, they do not significantly affect cell viability; they cause an evident lipid metabolism impairment, a hallmark of phagocytosis and oxidative stress.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Zingaro, Gianoncelli, Ceccone, Birarda, Cassano, La Spina, Agostinis, Bonanni, Ricci and Pascolo