Bidirectional Transfer Study of Polystyrene Nanoparticles across the Placental Barrier in an ex Vivo Human Placental Perfusion Model.

BACKGROUND: Nanoparticle exposure in utero might not be a major concern yet, but it could become more important with the increasing application of nanomaterials in consumer and medical products. Several epidemiologic and in vitro studies have shown that nanoparticles can have potential toxic effects. However, nanoparticles also offer the opportunity to develop new therapeutic strategies to treat specifically either the pregnant mother or the fetus. Previous studies mainly addressed whether nanoparticles are able to cross the placental barrier. However, the transport mechanisms underlying nanoparticle translocation across the placenta are still unknown. OBJECTIVES: In this study we examined which transport mechanisms underlie the placental transfer of nanoparticles. METHODS: We used the ex vivo human placental perfusion model to analyze the bidirectional transfer of plain and carboxylate modified polystyrene particles in a size range between 50 and 300 nm. RESULTS: We observed that the transport of polystyrene particles in the fetal to maternal direction was significantly higher than for the maternal to fetal direction. Regardless of their ability to cross the placental barrier and the direction of perfusion, all polystyrene particles accumulated in the syncytiotrophoblast of the placental tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the syncytiotrophoblast is the key player in regulating nanoparticle transport across the human placenta. The main mechanism underlying this translocation is not based on passive diffusion, but is likely to involve an active, energy-dependent transport pathway. These findings will be important for reproductive toxicology as well as for pharmaceutical engineering of new drug carriers.

Transfer studies of polystyrene nanoparticles in the ex vivo human placenta perfusion model: key sources of artifacts.

Nanotechnology is a rapidly expanding and highly promising new technology with many different fields of application. Consequently, the investigation of engineered nanoparticles in biological systems is steadily increasing. Questions about the safety of such engineered nanoparticles are very important and the most critical subject with regard to the penetration of biological barriers allowing particle distribution throughout the human body. Such translocation studies are technically challenging and many issues have to be considered to obtain meaningful and comparable results. Here we report on the transfer of polystyrene nanoparticles across the human placenta using an ex vivo human placenta perfusion model. We provide an overview of several challenges that can potentially occur in any translocation study in relation to particle size distribution, functionalization and stability of labels. In conclusion, a careful assessment of nanoparticle properties in a physiologically relevant milieu is as challenging and important as the actual study of nanoparticle-cell interactions itself.

Differential antigen specificity of hepatitis C virus-specific interleukin 17- and interferon γ-producing CD8(+) T cells during chronic infection.

A subset of CD8(+) T cells can secrete interleukin 17 (IL-17). However, very little information is currently available about their antigen specificity, tissue distribution, and biological relevance in chronic human viral infection. To address these issues, we comprehensively analyzed peripheral and intrahepatic CD8(+) T-cell responses in a cohort of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection for the antigen-specific production of IL-17 and interferon (IFN) γ. We found that HCV-specific IL-17-producing and retinoic acid receptor related orphan receptorγt-expressing CD8(+) T cells are detectable in blood and liver and target different epitopes, compared with IFN-γ-producing CD8(+) T cells. Their highest frequency was found in patients with low inflammatory activity, suggesting a protective role in chronic HCV infection.

Analysis of CD161 expression on human CD8+ T cells defines a distinct functional subset with tissue-homing properties.

CD8(+) T lymphocytes play a key role in host defense, in particular against important persistent viruses, although the critical functional properties of such cells in tissue are not fully defined. We have previously observed that CD8(+) T cells specific for tissue-localized viruses such as hepatitis C virus express high levels of the C-type lectin CD161. To explore the significance of this, we examined CD8(+)CD161(+) T cells in healthy donors and those with hepatitis C virus and defined a population of CD8(+) T cells with distinct homing and functional properties. These cells express high levels of CD161 and a pattern of molecules consistent with type 17 differentiation, including cytokines (e.g., IL-17, IL-22), transcription factors (e.g., retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gamma-t, P = 6 x 10(-9); RUNX2, P = 0.004), cytokine receptors (e.g., IL-23R, P = 2 x 10(-7); IL-18 receptor, P = 4 x 10(-6)), and chemokine receptors (e.g., CCR6, P = 3 x 10(-8); CXCR6, P = 3 x 10(-7); CCR2, P = 4 x 10(-7)). CD161(+)CD8(+) T cells were markedly enriched in tissue samples and coexpressed IL-17 with high levels of IFN-gamma and/or IL-22. The levels of polyfunctional cells in tissue was most marked in those with mild disease (P = 0.0006). These data define a T cell lineage that is present already in cord blood and represents as many as one in six circulating CD8(+) T cells in normal humans and a substantial fraction of tissue-infiltrating CD8(+) T cells in chronic inflammation. Such cells play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis and arthritis and potentially in other infectious and inflammatory diseases of man.