Polystyrene Nano- and Microplastic Particles Induce an Inflammatory Gene Expression Profile in Rat Neural Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes In Vitro
Microplastics are considered an emerging environmental pollutant due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment. However, the potential impact of microplastics on human health warrants further research. Recent studies have reported neurobehavioral and neurotoxic effects in marine and rodent mod...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/14/5/429 |
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| author | Kristen A. Marcellus Steven Bugiel Andrée Nunnikhoven Ivan Curran Santokh S. Gill |
| author_facet | Kristen A. Marcellus Steven Bugiel Andrée Nunnikhoven Ivan Curran Santokh S. Gill |
| author_sort | Kristen A. Marcellus |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microplastics are considered an emerging environmental pollutant due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment. However, the potential impact of microplastics on human health warrants further research. Recent studies have reported neurobehavioral and neurotoxic effects in marine and rodent models; however, their impact on the underlying cellular physiology in mammals remains unclear. Herein, we exposed neural stem cells and neural stem cell-derived astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and neurons to various sizes and concentrations of polystyrene nano- and microplastics. We investigated their cellular uptake, impact on cytotoxicity, and alteration of gene expression through transcriptome profiling. The cell type most affected by decreased viability were astrocytes after 7 days of repeated exposure. Transcriptional analysis showed that 1274 genes were differentially expressed in astrocytes exposed to 500 nm microplastics, but only 531 genes were altered in astrocytes exposed to 50 nm nanoplastics. Both canonical pathway and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that upregulated pathways were involved in neuroinflammation, innate and adaptive immunity, cell migration, proliferation, extracellular matrix remodeling, and cytoskeleton structures. The downregulated pathways were involved in lipid metabolism, specifically fatty acid oxidation and cholesterol metabolism. Our results show that neural stem cell-derived astrocytes repeatedly exposed to nano- and microplastics for 7 days undergo changes that are hallmarks of astrogliosis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:23:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c8560d0c886a4627aaf813252f86c75d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:23:45Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-c8560d0c886a4627aaf813252f86c75d2024-03-12T16:51:33ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912024-02-0114542910.3390/nano14050429Polystyrene Nano- and Microplastic Particles Induce an Inflammatory Gene Expression Profile in Rat Neural Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes In VitroKristen A. Marcellus0Steven Bugiel1Andrée Nunnikhoven2Ivan Curran3Santokh S. Gill4Regulatory Toxicology Research Division, Bureau of Chemical Safety, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, CanadaRegulatory Toxicology Research Division, Bureau of Chemical Safety, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, CanadaRegulatory Toxicology Research Division, Bureau of Chemical Safety, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, CanadaRegulatory Toxicology Research Division, Bureau of Chemical Safety, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, CanadaRegulatory Toxicology Research Division, Bureau of Chemical Safety, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, CanadaMicroplastics are considered an emerging environmental pollutant due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment. However, the potential impact of microplastics on human health warrants further research. Recent studies have reported neurobehavioral and neurotoxic effects in marine and rodent models; however, their impact on the underlying cellular physiology in mammals remains unclear. Herein, we exposed neural stem cells and neural stem cell-derived astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and neurons to various sizes and concentrations of polystyrene nano- and microplastics. We investigated their cellular uptake, impact on cytotoxicity, and alteration of gene expression through transcriptome profiling. The cell type most affected by decreased viability were astrocytes after 7 days of repeated exposure. Transcriptional analysis showed that 1274 genes were differentially expressed in astrocytes exposed to 500 nm microplastics, but only 531 genes were altered in astrocytes exposed to 50 nm nanoplastics. Both canonical pathway and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that upregulated pathways were involved in neuroinflammation, innate and adaptive immunity, cell migration, proliferation, extracellular matrix remodeling, and cytoskeleton structures. The downregulated pathways were involved in lipid metabolism, specifically fatty acid oxidation and cholesterol metabolism. Our results show that neural stem cell-derived astrocytes repeatedly exposed to nano- and microplastics for 7 days undergo changes that are hallmarks of astrogliosis.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/14/5/429microplasticsnanoplasticstranscriptional changesinflammationstem cellsreactive astrocytes |
| spellingShingle | Kristen A. Marcellus Steven Bugiel Andrée Nunnikhoven Ivan Curran Santokh S. Gill Polystyrene Nano- and Microplastic Particles Induce an Inflammatory Gene Expression Profile in Rat Neural Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes In Vitro Nanomaterials microplastics nanoplastics transcriptional changes inflammation stem cells reactive astrocytes |
| title | Polystyrene Nano- and Microplastic Particles Induce an Inflammatory Gene Expression Profile in Rat Neural Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes In Vitro |
| title_full | Polystyrene Nano- and Microplastic Particles Induce an Inflammatory Gene Expression Profile in Rat Neural Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes In Vitro |
| title_fullStr | Polystyrene Nano- and Microplastic Particles Induce an Inflammatory Gene Expression Profile in Rat Neural Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes In Vitro |
| title_full_unstemmed | Polystyrene Nano- and Microplastic Particles Induce an Inflammatory Gene Expression Profile in Rat Neural Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes In Vitro |
| title_short | Polystyrene Nano- and Microplastic Particles Induce an Inflammatory Gene Expression Profile in Rat Neural Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes In Vitro |
| title_sort | polystyrene nano and microplastic particles induce an inflammatory gene expression profile in rat neural stem cell derived astrocytes in vitro |
| topic | microplastics nanoplastics transcriptional changes inflammation stem cells reactive astrocytes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/14/5/429 |
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