Toxic effects of nanoplastics with different sizes and surface charges on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in A549 cells and the potential toxicological mechanism.
J Hazard Mater
; 430: 128485, 2022 05 15.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35739668
ABSTRACT
As a newly emerging hazardous material, airborne nanoplastics are easily inhaled and accumulated in human and animal alveoli. We previously found that polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) induced apoptosis and inflammation of human alveolar epithelial A549 cells, implying they increase the risk of pulmonary fibrosis. In this study, we investigated whether PS-NPs induce epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), the prelude to lung fibrosis, in A549 cells. A549 cells treated with PS-NPs of different sizes and surface charges exhibited increased migration and EMT markers accompanied with up-regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4), an ROS generator located in the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Moreover, PS-NPs caused mitochondrial dysfunction as demonstrated by membrane potential changes and impaired cellular energy metabolism. PS-NPs also activated ER stress as indicated by the up-regulated ER stress markers. As expected, smaller PS-NPs with a positive surface charge had stronger effects. Furthermore, the effects of PS-NPs on A549 cells were reversed by NOX4 gene knock-down, which verified the involvement of NOX4. Our results suggest that PS-NPs induce EMT in A549 cells through multiple mechanisms, and NOX4 is a key mediator in this process. Our findings contribute to understanding the toxicological mechanisms of nanoplastics on the respiratory system.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pulmonary Fibrosis
/
Microplastics
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Hazard Mater
Journal subject:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article