The Complex Toxicity of Tetracycline with Polystyrene Spheres on Gastric Cancer Cells

Abstract

Nowadays, microplastics (MPs) exist widely in the marine. The surface has strong adsorption capacity for antibiotics in natural environments, and the cytotoxicity of complex are poorly understood. In the study, 500 nm polystyrene (PS-MPs) and 60 nm nanoplastics (PS-NPs) were synthesized. The adsorption of PS to tetracycline (TC) was studied and their toxicity to gastric cancer cells (AGS) was researched. The adsorption experimental results show that PS absorbing capacity increased with increasing TC concentrations. The defense mechanism results show that 60 nm PS-NPs, 500 nm PS-MPs and their complex induce different damage to AGS cells. Furthermore, 600 mg/L PS-NPs and PS-MPs decline cell viability, induce oxidation stress and cause apoptosis. There is more serious damage of 60 nm PS-NPs than 500 nm PS-MPs in cell viability and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). DNA are also damaged by 60 nm PS-NPs and PS-TC NPs, 500 nm PS-MPs and PS-TC MPs, and 60 nm PS-NPs damage DNA more serious than 500 nm PS-MPs. Moreover, 60 nm PS-NPs and PS-TC NPs seem to promote bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax) overexpression. All treatments provided us with evidence on how PS-NPs, PS-MPs and their compounds damaged AGS cells.

Toxicity and Functional Tissue Responses of Two Freshwater Fish after Exposure to Polystyrene Microplastics

“…Similarly, concerning autophagy, a significant presence of autophagy vacuoles was observed in the enterocytes of planarians Dugesia japonica fed with polyethylene microsphere mixtures with a diameter ranging from 1 to 10 µm or 10-27 µm sized plastic particles [116]. Except for marine organisms and mammals, exposure to microparticles/plastics and specifically PS-MPs has led to apoptotic or autophagic cell death in human cell lines such as gastric cancer cells (AGS) after exposure to 500 nm and 60 nm polystyrene nanoplastics at concentrations 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 mg L −1 [117] and macrophages [118].…”

Nanoplastics induce more severe apoptosis through mitochondrial damage in Caco-2 cells compared to sub-micron plastics

“…The average sizes of PS20 and PS200 were 29 and 212 nm, respectively. The hydrated particle size of PS in the medium was larger than that in deionized water probably because the nutrients in the medium could attach to their surface [35]. The TEM images clearly revealed that the virgin and uorescent PS with uniform shape and size (Fig.…”

Research progress on the cellular toxicity caused by microplastics and nanoplastics

“…Studies by Wang, Bai et al (2020) and Yu (2021) showed that 30 nm plastic particles penetrate the cell membrane and accumulate in the cytoplasm, while 100 nm plastic particles are easily adsorbed on the cell surface and edges, and have difficulty entering the cell. In addition, Yan et al (2020) found that after cell stimulation, protein rings formed on the surface, which reduced MP‐induced ROS production. However, this was not the case when high concentrations of MPs were tested.…”

“…Oxidative stress is a condition in which the oxidative and antioxidant reactions in the body are out of balance and this is more conducive to oxidation. To resist excessive ROS, cells produce oxidative stress responses for self‐protection (Yan et al, 2020), at which time, reactive oxygen radicals attack cells and tissues and cause damage (Chen & Zhong, 2014). Previous studies have shown that low concentrations of MPs cause oxidative stress in Eriocheir sinensis in a short time (Kan et al, 2022), oxidative stress induced by MPs has also been found to cause reproductive toxicity and other adverse events in mouse experiments (An et al, 2021; Li, Ma, et al, 2021; Xie et al, 2020).…”