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Cellular internalization pathways of environmentally exposed microplastic particles: Phagocytosis or macropinocytosis?
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Researchers investigated the cellular internalization pathways of environmentally exposed microplastic particles, examining whether phagocytosis or macropinocytosis is the dominant uptake mechanism and how the eco-corona of adsorbed proteins on MP surfaces influences cell-particle interactions.
Microplastic particles (MP) ubiquitously occur in all environmental compartments where they interact with biomolecules, forming an eco-corona on their surfaces. The eco-corona affects the surface properties of MP and consequently how they interact with cells. Proteins, an integral component within the eco-corona, may serve as a ligand driving the interaction of MP with membrane receptors. To date, it is not known, whether eco-coronae originating from different environmental media differ in their proteinaceous compositions and whether these particles interact differently with cells. We show that the protein composition of the eco-coronae formed in freshwater (FW) and salt water (SW) are distinct from each other. We did not observe different adhesion strengths between MP coated with different eco-coronae and cells. However, the internalization efficiency and the underlying internalization mechanisms significantly differed between FW- and SW eco-coronae. By inhibiting actin-driven and receptor-mediated internalization processes using Cytochalasin-D, Amiloride, and Amantadine, we show that FW microplastic particles predominantly become internalized via phagocytosis, while macropinocytosis is more important for SW microplastic particles. Overall, our findings show that the origin of eco-coronae coatings are important factors for the cellular internalization of microplastic particles. This highlights the relevance of eco-coronae for adverse effects of environmentally relevant microplastic particles on cells and organisms.
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Cellular internalization pathways of environmentally exposed microplastic particles: Phagocytosis or Macropinocytosis?
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated the cellular internalization pathways -- phagocytosis versus macropinocytosis -- by which environmentally exposed microplastic particles enter cells, examining how the eco-corona of biomolecules that forms on particle surfaces in freshwater and saltwater affects cell uptake mechanisms.
Cellular internalization pathways of environmentally exposed microplastic particles: Phagocytosis or Macropinocytosis?
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated how eco-corona formation on environmentally exposed microplastic particles affects their cellular internalization pathways, examining whether particles coated with biomolecules from freshwater or saltwater are taken up by cells via phagocytosis or macropinocytosis, with findings showing that protein ligands in the eco-corona influence cell membrane receptor interactions and thus uptake mechanisms.
Cellular internalization pathways of environmentally exposed microplastic particles: Phagocytosis or macropinocytosis?
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Researchers studied how microplastic particles coated with natural biomolecules from freshwater versus saltwater environments are taken up by cells. They found that the protein coatings formed in different water types were chemically distinct and led to different cellular uptake pathways: freshwater-coated particles entered cells mainly through phagocytosis, while saltwater-coated particles used macropinocytosis. The study reveals that where a microplastic particle has been in the environment fundamentally changes how it interacts with living cells.
How surface properties of pristine and environmentally exposed microplastics determine particle-cell-interactions
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Researchers examined how surface properties of pristine versus environmentally exposed microplastic particles determine their interactions with cells, including attachment and internalization. The study found that physicochemical properties such as surface charge, functional groups, and eco-corona coatings are critical determinants of particle-cell interactions, underscoring the need for thorough particle characterization in cytotoxicity studies.
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Microplastics and nanoplastics enter cells through endocytosis and passive diffusion, then travel through organelles including endosomes, autophagosomes, and lysosomes, ultimately causing toxicity in mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, nucleus, and cytoskeleton. Understanding these cellular uptake pathways and organelle-level damage mechanisms is critical for accurately assessing the human health risks of chronic microplastic exposure.
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