Moratin Helena, Thöle Anna, Lang Josephine, Ehret Kasemo Totta, Stöth Manuel, Hagen Rudolf, Scherzad Agmal, Hackenberg Stephan
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 11, 97080 Wuerzburg, Germany.
Pharmaceutics. 2023 Oct 21;15(10):2506. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15102506.
Inhalation is considered to be the most relevant source of human exposure to nanoparticles (NPs); however, only a few investigations have addressed the influence of exposing the respiratory mucosal barrier to subcytotoxic doses. In the nasal respiratory epithelium, cells of the mucosa represent one of the first contact points of the human organism with airborne NPs. Disruption of the epithelial barrier by harmful materials can lead to inflammation in addition to potential intrinsic toxicity of the particles. The aim of this study was to investigate whether subtoxic concentrations of zinc oxide (ZnO)- and silver (Ag)-NPs have an influence on upper airway barrier integrity. Nasal epithelial cells from 17 donors were cultured at the air-liquid interface and exposed to ZnO- and Ag-NPs. Barrier function, quantified by transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), decreased after treatment with 10 µg/mL Ag-NPs, but FITC-dextran permeability remained stable and no change in mRNA levels of tight junction proteins and E-cadherin was detected by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The results indicate that subtoxic concentrations of Ag-NPs may already induce damage of the upper airway epithelial barrier in vitro. The lack of similar disruption by ZnO-NPs of similar size suggests a specific effect by Ag-NPs.
吸入被认为是人类接触纳米颗粒(NPs)的最主要途径;然而,仅有少数研究探讨了将呼吸道黏膜屏障暴露于亚细胞毒性剂量下的影响。在鼻呼吸上皮中,黏膜细胞是人体与空气中纳米颗粒的首批接触点之一。有害物质破坏上皮屏障除了可能导致颗粒本身的内在毒性外,还会引发炎症。本研究的目的是调查亚毒性浓度的氧化锌(ZnO)纳米颗粒和银(Ag)纳米颗粒是否对上呼吸道屏障完整性有影响。来自17名供体的鼻上皮细胞在气液界面培养,并暴露于ZnO纳米颗粒和Ag纳米颗粒中。用跨上皮电阻(TEER)定量的屏障功能在用10µg/mL Ag纳米颗粒处理后下降,但荧光素异硫氰酸酯 - 葡聚糖(FITC - 葡聚糖)通透性保持稳定,并且通过实时定量聚合酶链反应(RT - qPCR)未检测到紧密连接蛋白和E - 钙黏蛋白的mRNA水平发生变化。结果表明,亚毒性浓度的Ag纳米颗粒在体外可能已经诱导上呼吸道上皮屏障的损伤。大小相似的ZnO纳米颗粒未产生类似的破坏作用,这表明Ag纳米颗粒具有特定效应。