School of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, PR China; Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen 518108, PR China.
School of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, PR China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2021 Dec 20;227:112885. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112885. Epub 2021 Oct 9.
The coexistence of nanoplastics (NPs) and pollutants such as arsenic (As) has become an unignorable environmental problem. However, there is still a considerable knowledge gap about the impact of NPs and pollutants on human health risks. In this study, the human gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cells were used as a model to investigate the toxicity of NPs with different particle sizes and As by MTT assay, western blotting, immunofluorescence and so on. The results showed that 20 nm (8 μg/mL), 50 nm (128 μg/mL), 200 nm (128 μg/mL), 500 nm (128 μg/mL), 1000 nm (128 μg/mL) polystyrene (PS) did not affect cell viability, ROS, intracellular calcium and activate apoptosis pathway in AGS cells. However, noncytotoxic concentration of NPs enhanced the cytotoxicity and intracellular accumulation of As. NPs destroys the fluidity of cell membrane and cytoskeleton, inhibits the activity of ABC transporter, and leads to the accumulation of As in cells. This work highlights that the damage caused by NPs, especially at the level of noncytotoxicity, joint with As cannot be ignored and provides a specific toxicological mechanism of NPs accompanied by exposure to As.
纳米塑料（NPs）与砷（As）等污染物共存已成为一个不可忽视的环境问题。然而，关于 NPs 和污染物对人类健康风险的影响，仍存在相当大的知识差距。在这项研究中，我们用人胃腺癌细胞（AGS）作为模型，通过 MTT 检测、Western blot、免疫荧光等方法，研究了不同粒径 NPs 和 As 的毒性。结果表明，20nm（8μg/ml）、50nm（128μg/ml）、200nm（128μg/ml）、500nm（128μg/ml）和 1000nm（128μg/ml）聚苯乙烯（PS）对 AGS 细胞活力、ROS、细胞内钙无影响，也不激活细胞凋亡途径。然而，非细胞毒性浓度的 NPs 增强了 As 的细胞毒性和细胞内积累。NPs 破坏细胞膜和细胞骨架的流动性，抑制 ABC 转运体的活性，导致 As 在细胞内的积累。本工作强调了 NPs 造成的损害，尤其是在非细胞毒性水平上，与 As 联合作用不可忽视，并为 NPs 伴随暴露于 As 提供了特定的毒理学机制。
