Differential proteomics highlights macrophage-specific responses to amorphous silica nanoparticles

Abstract

The technological and economic benefits of engineered nanomaterials may be offset by their adverse effects on living organisms. One of the highly produced nanomaterials under such scrutiny is amorphous silica nanoparticles, which are known to have an appreciable, although reversible, inflammatory potential. This is due to their selective toxicity toward macrophages, and it is thus important to study the cellular responses of this cell type to silica nanoparticles to better understand the direct or indirect adverse effects of nanosilica. We have here studied the responses of the RAW264.7 murine macrophage cells and of the control MPC11 plasma cells to subtoxic concentrations of nanosilica, using a combination of proteomic and targeted approaches. This allowed us to document alterations in the cellular cytoskeleton, in the phagocytic capacity of the cells as well as their ability to respond to bacterial stimuli. More surprisingly, silica nanoparticles also induce a greater sensitivity of macrophages to DNA alkylating agents, such as styrene oxide, even at doses which do not induce any appreciable cell death.

How reversible are the effects of silver nanoparticles on macrophages? A proteomic-instructed view

“…With growing recognition of the im-portance of post-translational modifications, the ability to do this is biologically relevant. Indeed, we have shown both in this study and in previous ones 53,86 that some enzyme activities correlate with a single protein form and not with the sum of all the protein forms, showing the relevance of this parameter.…”

Exosomal miRNA Profiling to Identify Nanoparticle Phagocytic Mechanisms

“…Mechanistically, pneumoconiosis is aroused by pulmonary inflammatory and immune disorder . Nanoparticles inhaled in pulmonary were first swallowed by macrophages and dendritic cells, but sustained exposure to nanoparticles may lead to cell disruption, apoptosis, or autophagy, resulting in releasing of cytokines, chemokines, or other substances . Simultaneously, macrophages and dendritic cells also initiate antigen presenting process to T lymphocytes, and the activated immune response, in turn, aggravates pulmonary inflammation .…”

How Reversible Are the Effects of Fumed Silica on Macrophages? A Proteomics-Informed View

“…Transcriptomic studies of the effects of silica on cells have been published and have shown unexpected results, such as a modulation of the expression of genes implicated in the epithelial–mesenchymal transition or in cell adhesion [ 9 ]. Proteomic studies have also been applied to silica nanoparticle toxicology on several cell types such as lung epithelial cells [ 10 ] and macrophages [ 11 ]. Here again, unexpected effects have been predicted from omics studies and verified by targeted studies, e.g., a cross-toxicity between colloidal silica nanoparticles and DNA alkylating agents such as styrene oxide [ 11 ].…”