Titanium dioxide nanoparticles promote oxidative stress, autophagy and reduce NLRP3 in primary rat astrocytes

Publication date: Available online 28 January 2020Source: Chemico-Biological InteractionsAuthor(s): José Antonio Pérez-Arizti, José Luis Ventura-Gallegos, Roberto Erasmo Galván Juárez, María del Pilar Ramos-Godinez, Zaira Colín-Val, Rebeca López-MarureAbstractTitanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) are widely used in the food industry, cosmetics, personal care and paints among others. Through occupational exposure and daily consumption, and because of their small size, TiO2-NPs can enter the body through different routes such as oral, dermal and inhalation, and accumulate in multiple organs including the brain. TiO2-NPs cause severe damage to many cell types, however their effects in the central nervous system remain largely unexplored. Therefore, in the present study we determined the cytotoxic effect of TiO2-NPs on rat astrocytes. We tested the oxidant properties of TiO2-NPs through DTT depletion, and measured oxidative stress-induced damage in mitochondria, through oxidation of 2,7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H2DCFDA) and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) with Mitotracker Green FM. We further examined oxidative stress-derived responses such as IκB-α degradation by Western Blot, NF-κB translocation by EMSA, autophagy induction by LC3-II levels, and expression of the inflammasome protein NLRP3. TiO2-NPs showed high oxidant properties and induced strong oxidative stress in astrocytes following their internalization, causing mitochondrial ...
Source: Chemico Biological Interactions - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research