Influence of polystyrene nanoparticles on the toxicity of tetrabromobisphenol A in human intestinal cell lines.

Research and regulatory efforts in toxicology are increasingly focused on the development of suitable non-animal methodologies for human health risk assessment. In this work we used human intestinal Caco-2 and HT29/MTX cell lines to address the potential risks of mixtures of the emerging contaminants tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and commercial polystyrene nanoparticles (PSNPs). We employed different in vitro settings to evaluate basal cytotoxicity through three complementary endpoints (metabolic activity, plasmatic, and lysosomal membrane integrity) and the induction of the oxidative stress and DNA damage responses with specific endpoints. Although no clear pattern was observed, our findings highlight the predominant impact of TBBPA in the combined exposures under subcytotoxic conditions and a differential behavior of the Caco-2 and HT29/MTX co-culture system. Distinctive outcomes detected with the mixture treatments include reactive oxygen species (ROS) increases, disturbances of mitochondrial inner membrane potential, generation of alkali-sensitive sites in DNA, as well as significant changes in the expression levels of relevant DNA and oxidative stress related genes.

Microalga Broths Synthesize Antibacterial and Non-Cytotoxic Silver Nanoparticles Showing Synergy with Antibiotics and Bacterial ROS Induction and Can Be Reused for Successive AgNP Batches.

The era of increasing bacterial antibiotic resistance requires new approaches to fight infections. With this purpose, silver-based nanomaterials are a reality in some fields and promise new developments. We report the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using culture broths from a microalga. Broths from two media, with different compositions and pHs and sampled at two growth phases, produced eight AgNP types. Nanoparticles harvested after several synthesis periods showed differences in antibacterial activity and stability. Moreover, an evaluation of the broths for several consecutive syntheses did not find relevant kinetics or activity differences until the third round. Physicochemical characteristics of the AgNPs (core and hydrodynamic sizes, Z-potential, crystallinity, and corona composition) were determined, observing differences depending on the broths used. AgNPs showed good antibacterial activity at concentrations producing no or low cytotoxicity on cultured eukaryotic cells. All the AgNPs had high levels of synergy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus with the classic antibiotics streptomycin and kanamycin, but with ampicillin only against S. aureus and tetracycline against E. coli. Differences in the synergy levels were also dependent on the types of AgNPs. We also found that, for some AgNPs, the killing of bacteria started before the massive accumulation of ROS.

Detrimental effects of individual versus combined exposure to tetrabromobisphenol A and polystyrene nanoplastics in fish cell lines.

The potential interactions between the diverse pollutants that can be released into the environment and the resulting outcomes are a challenging issue that needs to be further examined. This in vitro study was aimed to assess potential toxic effects caused by combined exposure to tetrabromobisphenol A, a flame retardant widely used and frequently detected in aquatic matrices, and commercially available polystyrene nanoparticles as reference material to evaluate nanoplastics risks. Our results, using freshwater fish cell lines and a set of relevant cytotoxicity endpoints including cell viability, oxidative stress, and DNA damage, provide additional mechanistic insights that could help to fully characterize the toxicity profiles of tetrabromobisphenol A and polystyrene nanoparticles. Furthermore, we describe subtle changes in cell viability as well as the generation of oxidative DNA damage after coexposure to subcytotoxic concentrations of the tested pollutants.

An acute exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid causes non-reversible plasma membrane injury in HeLa cells.

Health and environmental risks regarding perfluorooctanoic acid, a well-known perfluorinated compound, are still a subject of great concern. Ubiquitous exposure and disparity of results make it difficult to determine the underlying mechanism of action, especially at the cellular level. This study proposes an experimental design to assess the reversibility of adverse effects after a one-time exposure to the compound, in comparison with other more conventional timings. Complementary endpoints including total protein content, neutral red uptake and MTT reduction tests along with division rates and microscopic observations were evaluated in HeLa cells. In addition, PFOA quantification inside the cells was performed. The cellular effects exerted after 24 h exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid are non-reversible after a 48 h recovery period. In addition, we describe for the first time the induction of plasma membrane blebbing and the activation of membrane repair mechanisms after recovery from non-cytotoxic treatments with the compound. This experimental design has provided relevant information regarding the toxicity of this perfluorinated compound, relating all the adverse effects detected to its interaction with the plasma membrane.

A moderate exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid causes persistent DNA damage and senescence in human epidermal HaCaT keratinocytes.

Perfluorooctanoic acid has been used widespread, during the last decades, in a number of consumer and industrial products. Although this compound has been subjected to extensive epidemiological and toxicological studies, limited data are available concerning its potential dermal toxicity in mammalian cells. In this study, we used a two-stage approach with relevant cytotoxicity endpoints including cell viability and proliferation, oxidative stress, DNA damage and cell senescence to assess the immediate and the long-lasting or delayed cytotoxicity caused by the compound in HaCaT keratinocytes. Our results suggest that a single exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid causes concentration-dependent changes in cell proliferation that were not restored during a 48 h recovery period. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a moderate treatment with this perfluorochemical causes persistent DNA damage, which ultimately leads to development of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype in HaCaT cells. This paper provides unprecedented data and insights regarding the cytotoxic effects of perfluorooctanoic acid in human cells that could be of special relevance for use in comparative in vitro-in vivo studies. Moreover, our findings highlight the importance of considering both the immediate and long-lasting or delayed cytotoxic responses caused by chemical exposure, to ensure the accurate identification of toxicity in cell-based systems.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress as a novel cellular response to di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate exposure.

Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate is a high-production chemical widely used as a plasticizer for polyvinyl chloride products. Due to its ubiquitous presence in environmental compartments and the constant exposure of the general population through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption, this compound has been subjected to extensive in vivo and in vitro toxicological studies. Despite the available information, research on the cytotoxicity of di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in mammalian cells is relatively limited.In this paper, an in vitro multi-parametric approach was used to provide further mechanistic data on the toxic activity of this chemical in Vero and HaCaT cells. Our results reveal that a 24 h exposure to di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate causes, in both cell lines, an inhibition of cell proliferation that was linked to cell cycle delay at the G1 phase. Concomitantly, the tested compound induces mild endoplasmic reticulum stress which leads to an adaptive rather than a pro-apoptotic response in mammalian cells. These findings demonstrate that there are multiple potential cellular targets of di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate-induced toxicity and the need to develop further experimental studies for the risk assessment of this ubiquitous plasticizer.

Toxicity of silver nanoparticles to a fish gill cell line: role of medium composition.

In aqueous solutions, silver nanoparticle (AgNP) behavior is affected by a variety of factors which lead to altered AgNP size and toxicity. Our research aims to explore the effect of media composition on citrate-coated AgNP (cit-AgNP) behavior and toxicity to the cell line from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) gill, RTgill-W1. Three different exposure media (L15/ex, L15/ex w/o Cl and d-L15/ex) were used. These were characterized by varying ionic strength and chloride content, both of which had a dominant effect on the behaviour of cit-AgNP. Comparing the behaviour and toxicity of cit-AgNP in the different media, stronger agglomeration of cit-AgNP correlated with higher toxicity. Deposition of cit-AgNP on cells might explain the higher toxicity of agglomerated cit-AgNP compared to that of suspended cit-AgNP. The cit-AgNP concentration-response curves as a function of dissolved silver ions, and the limited prevention of toxicity by silver ligands, indicated that cit-AgNP elicited a particle-specific effect on the cells. Furthermore, the lysosomal membrane integrity was significantly more sensitive to cit-AgNP exposure than cellular metabolic activity or cell membrane integrity and showed the weakest protection by silver ligands. This revealed that cit-AgNP toxicity seems to particularly act on RTgill-W1 cell lysosomes. The newly developed low ionic strength medium, d-L15/ex, which can stabilize cit-AgNP and better mimic the freshwater environment, offers an excellent exposure solution to study cellular and molecular effects of NP to gill cells.

The antioxidant butylated hydroxyanisole potentiates the toxic effects of propylparaben in cultured mammalian cells.

Butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben are phenolic preservatives commonly used in food, pharmaceutical and personal care products. Both chemicals have been subjected to extensive toxicological studies, due to the growing concern regarding their possible impacts on environmental and human health. However, the cytotoxicity and underlying mechanisms of co-exposure to these compounds have not been explored. In this study, a set of relevant cytotoxicity endpoints including cell viability and proliferation, oxidative stress, DNA damage and gene expression changes were analyzed to assess whether the antioxidant butylated hydroxyanisole could prevent the pro-oxidant effects caused by propylparaben in Vero cells. We demonstrated that binary mixtures of both chemicals induce greater cytotoxic effects than those reported after single exposureto each compound. Simultaneous treatment with butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben caused G0/G1 cell cycle arrest as a result of enhanced generation of oxidative stress and DNA double strand breaks. DNA microarray analysis revealed that a cross-talk between transforming growth factor beta (TGFß) and ataxia-telangiectasia mutated kinase (ATM) pathways regulates the response of Vero cells to the tested compounds in binary mixture. Our findings indicate that butylated hydroxyanisole potentiates the pro-oxidant effects of propylparaben in cultured mammalian cells and provide useful information for their safety assessment.

Cellular responses associated with dibucaine-induced phospholipidosis.

A wide range of cationic amphiphilic drugs (CADs) from different therapeutic areas are known to cause phospholipidosis both in vivo and in vitro. Although the relevance of this storage disorder for human health remains uncertain, CADs have been repeatedly associated with clinical side effects, and as a result, phospholipidosis is of major concern for drug development in the pharmaceutical industry. An important unresolved question in this field is whether phospholipidosis is really linked to cellular toxicity. This work was focused on studying cellular responses associated with CAD-induced phospholipidosis in cultured mammalian kidney cells. Dibucaine (2-butoxy-N-[2-diethylaminoethyl]quinoline-4-carboxamide), an amide-type anesthetic with poorly defined cytotoxic effects, was used to induce phospholipidosis in Vero cells. The results from several assays that measure cell viability, proliferation, and morphological changes indicated that dibucaine-induced lysosomal phospholipidosis was accompanied by cellular defense responses such as transient growth arrest and autophagy, under mild stress conditions. Conversely, when tolerance limits were exceeded treated Vero cells underwent extensive and irreparable injury, leading ultimately to cell death. Our data provide additional information that may be of considerable interest for drug safety assessment.

Oxidative DNA damage contributes to the toxic activity of propylparaben in mammalian cells.

Propyl p-hydroxybenzoate, commonly referred to as propylparaben, is the most frequently used preservative to inhibit microbial growth and extend shelf life of a range of consumer products. The objective of this study was to provide further insight into the toxicological profile of this compound, because of the current discrepancy in the literature with regard to the safety of parabens. The Vero cell line, derived from the kidney of the green monkey, was selected to evaluate the adverse effects of propylparaben by use of a set of mechanistically relevant endpoints for detecting cytotoxicity and genotoxic activities. Our results demonstrate that exposure to the compound for 24h causes changes in cell-proliferation rates rather than in cell viability. A significant and dose-dependent decline in the percentage of mitotic cells was observed at the lowest concentration tested, mainly due to cell-cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. Immunodetection techniques revealed that induction of DNA double-strand breaks and oxidative damage underlies the cytostatic effect observed in treated Vero cells. Additional studies are in progress to extend these findings, which define a novel mode of action of propylparaben in cultured mammalian cells.

Ecotoxicological evaluation of the additive butylated hydroxyanisole using a battery with six model systems and eighteen endpoints.

The occurrence and fate of additives in the aquatic environment is an emerging issue in environmental chemistry. This paper describes the ecotoxicological effects of the commonly used additive butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) using a test battery, comprising of several different organisms and in vitro test systems, representing a proportion of the different trophic levels. The most sensitive system to BHA was the inhibition of bioluminescence in Vibrio fischeri bacteria, which resulted in an acute low observed adverse effect concentration (LOAEC) of 0.28 microM. The next most sensitive system was the immobilization of the cladoceran Daphnia magna followed by: the inhibition of the growth of the unicellular alga Chlorella vulgaris; the endpoints evaluated in Vero (mammalian) cells (total protein content, LDH activity, neutral red uptake and MTT metabolization), mitotic index and root growth inhibition in the terrestrial plant Allium cepa, and finally, the endpoints used on the RTG-2 salmonid fish cell line (neutral red uptake, total protein content, MTS metabolization, lactate dehydrogenase leakage and activity, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity). Morphological alterations in RTG-2 cells were also assessed and these included loss of cells, induction of cellular pleomorphism, hydropic degeneration and induction of apoptosis at high concentrations. The results from this study also indicated that micronuclei were not induced in A.cepa exposed to BHA. The differences in sensitivity for the diverse systems that were used (EC50 ranged from 1.2 to >500 microM) suggest the importance for a test battery approach in the evaluation of the ecological consequences of chemicals. According to the results, the levels of BHA reported in industrial wastewater would elicit adverse effects in the environment. This, coupled with its potential to bioaccumulate, makes BHA a pollutant of concern not only for acute exposures, but also for the long-term.