Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role Revealed
Humans are continuously exposed to polymeric materials such as in textiles, car tires and packaging. Unfortunately, their break down products pollute our environment, leading to widespread contamination with micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs). The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is an important biological bar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/13/8/1404 |
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| author | Verena Kopatz Kevin Wen Tibor Kovács Alison S. Keimowitz Verena Pichler Joachim Widder A. Dick Vethaak Oldamur Hollóczki Lukas Kenner |
| author_facet | Verena Kopatz Kevin Wen Tibor Kovács Alison S. Keimowitz Verena Pichler Joachim Widder A. Dick Vethaak Oldamur Hollóczki Lukas Kenner |
| author_sort | Verena Kopatz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Humans are continuously exposed to polymeric materials such as in textiles, car tires and packaging. Unfortunately, their break down products pollute our environment, leading to widespread contamination with micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs). The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is an important biological barrier that protects the brain from harmful substances. In our study we performed short term uptake studies in mice with orally administered polystyrene micro-/nanoparticles (9.55 µm, 1.14 µm, 0.293 µm). We show that nanometer sized particles—but not bigger particles—reach the brain within only 2 h after gavage. To understand the transport mechanism, we performed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations on the interaction of DOPC bilayers with a polystyrene nanoparticle in the presence and absence of various coronae. We found that the composition of the biomolecular corona surrounding the plastic particles was critical for passage through the BBB. Cholesterol molecules enhanced the uptake of these contaminants into the membrane of the BBB, whereas the protein model inhibited it. These opposing effects could explain the passive transport of the particles into the brain. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:40:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea445b7b1eda43e7be91f908d1acca39 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:40:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea445b7b1eda43e7be91f908d1acca392023-11-17T20:44:00ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912023-04-01138140410.3390/nano13081404Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role RevealedVerena Kopatz0Kevin Wen1Tibor Kovács2Alison S. Keimowitz3Verena Pichler4Joachim Widder5A. Dick Vethaak6Oldamur Hollóczki7Lukas Kenner8Division of Experimental and Laboratory Animal Pathology, Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaChemistry Department, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, USADepartment of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryChemistry Department, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, USACenter for Biomarker Research in Medicine (CBmed), microOne, 8010 Graz, AustriaDepartment for Radiation Oncology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaInstitute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3584 Utrecht, The NetherlandsDepartment of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryDivision of Experimental and Laboratory Animal Pathology, Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaHumans are continuously exposed to polymeric materials such as in textiles, car tires and packaging. Unfortunately, their break down products pollute our environment, leading to widespread contamination with micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs). The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is an important biological barrier that protects the brain from harmful substances. In our study we performed short term uptake studies in mice with orally administered polystyrene micro-/nanoparticles (9.55 µm, 1.14 µm, 0.293 µm). We show that nanometer sized particles—but not bigger particles—reach the brain within only 2 h after gavage. To understand the transport mechanism, we performed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations on the interaction of DOPC bilayers with a polystyrene nanoparticle in the presence and absence of various coronae. We found that the composition of the biomolecular corona surrounding the plastic particles was critical for passage through the BBB. Cholesterol molecules enhanced the uptake of these contaminants into the membrane of the BBB, whereas the protein model inhibited it. These opposing effects could explain the passive transport of the particles into the brain.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/13/8/1404polystyrenemicro-/nanoplasticblood–brain barrierbiomolecular coronacomputational uptake modeling |
| spellingShingle | Verena Kopatz Kevin Wen Tibor Kovács Alison S. Keimowitz Verena Pichler Joachim Widder A. Dick Vethaak Oldamur Hollóczki Lukas Kenner Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role Revealed Nanomaterials polystyrene micro-/nanoplastic blood–brain barrier biomolecular corona computational uptake modeling |
| title | Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role Revealed |
| title_full | Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role Revealed |
| title_fullStr | Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role Revealed |
| title_full_unstemmed | Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role Revealed |
| title_short | Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role Revealed |
| title_sort | micro and nanoplastics breach the blood brain barrier bbb biomolecular corona s role revealed |
| topic | polystyrene micro-/nanoplastic blood–brain barrier biomolecular corona computational uptake modeling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/13/8/1404 |
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