Article
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Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Uptake and Cellular Effects of Polymethylmethacrylate on Human Cell Lines
Version 1
: Received: 28 November 2023 / Approved: 29 November 2023 / Online: 29 November 2023 (11:06:17 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Braun, A.; Seitz, H. Uptake and Cellular Effects of Polymethylmethacrylate on Human Cell Lines. Microplastics 2024, 3, 205-216. Braun, A.; Seitz, H. Uptake and Cellular Effects of Polymethylmethacrylate on Human Cell Lines. Microplastics 2024, 3, 205-216.
Abstract
Both the use of plastic and its decomposition products lead to the distribution of plastic all over the earth and finally to the uptake by all kind of living beings including humans. Still, it is widely unknown what risks harbor the widespread uptake of plastics for human health, espe-cially regarding contributing factors like size, shape and surface composition. We assessed the uptake of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-nano- and microbeads for HEK293-, A549- and MRC5 cells. Via confocal microscopy, we localized multiple PMMA-beads inside the cytosol of cells. Uptake of PMMA-beads did not alter cell growth and cell division, implying no short-term toxicity towards human cells. Further, we used a cAMP response element binding protein (CREB)-mediated reporter assay to assess whether internalized PMMA-nanobeads alter cell-signaling pathways. In contrast to the in vitro transcription, where the addition of PMMA-nanobeads abolished the transcription, no changes regarding CREB-mediated cell sig-naling are given in HEK293-cells. Our data led to the assumption that PMMA-nano-and mi-crobeads are internalized via endocytosis and end up as lysosomes within the cells cytosol. Therefore, we concluded differences regarding the surface composition of the PMMA-nanobeads mainly affect its potential to alter cell signaling. These findings emphasize the key role the sur-face composition plays regarding microplastic and its risks for human health.
Keywords
CREB; PMMA; micro-plastics; confocal microscopy; nano-plastics
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Toxicology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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