Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role Revealed
Verena Kopatz,
Kevin Wen,
Tibor Kovács,
Alison S. Keimowitz,
Verena Pichler,
Joachim Widder,
A. Dick Vethaak,
Oldamur Hollóczki,
Lukas Kenner
Affiliations
Verena Kopatz
Division of Experimental and Laboratory Animal Pathology, Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Kevin Wen
Chemistry Department, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, USA
Tibor Kovács
Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Alison S. Keimowitz
Chemistry Department, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, USA
Verena Pichler
Center for Biomarker Research in Medicine (CBmed), microOne, 8010 Graz, Austria
Joachim Widder
Department for Radiation Oncology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
A. Dick Vethaak
Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3584 Utrecht, The Netherlands
Oldamur Hollóczki
Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Lukas Kenner
Division of Experimental and Laboratory Animal Pathology, Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Humans are continuously exposed to polymeric materials such as in textiles, car tires and packaging. Unfortunately, their break down products pollute our environment, leading to widespread contamination with micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs). The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is an important biological barrier that protects the brain from harmful substances. In our study we performed short term uptake studies in mice with orally administered polystyrene micro-/nanoparticles (9.55 µm, 1.14 µm, 0.293 µm). We show that nanometer sized particles—but not bigger particles—reach the brain within only 2 h after gavage. To understand the transport mechanism, we performed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations on the interaction of DOPC bilayers with a polystyrene nanoparticle in the presence and absence of various coronae. We found that the composition of the biomolecular corona surrounding the plastic particles was critical for passage through the BBB. Cholesterol molecules enhanced the uptake of these contaminants into the membrane of the BBB, whereas the protein model inhibited it. These opposing effects could explain the passive transport of the particles into the brain.
