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Protein Corona-Directed Cellular Recognition and Uptake of Polyethylene Nanoplastics by Macrophages
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Scientists discovered that when polyethylene nanoplastics enter the bloodstream, they quickly become coated with blood proteins, and this protein coating determines how immune cells recognize and respond to them. High-density and low-density polyethylene attracted different protein coatings, leading to different immune responses from macrophages. This research helps explain how nanoplastics interact with the immune system once they enter the human body, which is key to understanding their potential health effects.
The widespread use of plastic products in daily life has raised concerns about the health hazards associated with nanoplastics (NPs). When exposed, NPs are likely to infiltrate the bloodstream, interact with plasma proteins, and trigger macrophage recognition and clearance. In this study, we focused on establishing a correlation between the unique protein coronal signatures of high-density (HDPE) and low-density (LDPE) polyethylene (PE) NPs with their ultimate impact on macrophage recognition and cytotoxicity. We observed that low-density and high-density lipoprotein receptors (LDLR and SR-B1), facilitated by apolipoproteins, played an essential role in PE-NP recognition. Consequently, PE-NPs activated the caspase-3/GSDME pathway and ultimately led to pyroptosis. Advanced imaging techniques, including label-free scattered light confocal imaging and cryo-soft X-ray transmission microscopy with 3D-tomographic reconstruction (nano-CT), provided powerful insights into visualizing NPs-cell interactions. These findings underscore the potential risks of NPs to macrophages and introduce analytical methods for studying the behavior of NPs in biological systems.
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Researchers found that nanoplastics quickly coat themselves in blood proteins, forming a multi-layered "corona" that changes the proteins' shape and makes them biologically harmful; these protein-coated nanoplastics caused more DNA and cell damage in human blood cells than bare nanoplastics. The study highlights the need to regulate nanoplastics in medical products and better understand how they accumulate in the body.
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Scientists studied how proteins in biological fluids coat nanoplastic particles (forming a "protein corona") and how this coating changes the way cells take up and process the plastics. The protein coating actually increased how many nanoplastics entered liver cells and made them harder to clear out, suggesting that once nanoplastics enter the bloodstream, the body's own proteins may make the contamination harder to eliminate.
The in vitro gastrointestinal digestion-associated protein corona of polystyrene nano- and microplastics increases their uptake by human THP-1-derived macrophages
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When polystyrene nano- and microplastics pass through simulated gastrointestinal digestion, they acquire a coating of gut proteins — a 'protein corona' — that dramatically increases their uptake by human immune cells (macrophages), boosting internalization of small neutral particles by up to six-fold compared to undigested plastic. The identity of the proteins driving this effect, including clotting factors and apolipoproteins, suggests that realistic dietary exposure conditions substantially change how microplastics interact with the body, and that lab tests using undigested plastics likely underestimate actual cellular uptake.
Impact of Protein Corona Formation and Polystyrene Nanoparticle Functionalisation on the Interaction with Dynamic Biomimetic Membranes Comprising of Integrin
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Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoparticles interact with blood proteins and cell membranes to understand potential health effects of nanoplastic exposure. They found that when blood proteins coat the nanoparticles, forming a so-called protein corona, it actually reduces the particles' ability to damage cell membranes. The study suggests that the body's natural protein coating of nanoplastics may offer some protection against membrane disruption, though the long-term implications remain unclear.
Contribution of Cancer-Specific Protein Coronas to the Pro-Tumor Effects of Nanoplastics through Enhanced Cellular Interactions
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Researchers investigated how nanoplastics interact with blood proteins to form a protein coating that changes how the particles behave around cancer cells. They found that this protein coating enhanced the uptake of nanoplastics by cancer cells and could promote tumor-related behaviors. The study raises important questions about whether nanoplastic exposure could influence cancer progression through these protein-mediated interactions.
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