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Smolková B, MacCulloch T, Rockwood TF, Liu M, Henry SJW, Frtús A, Uzhytchak M, Lunova M, Hof M, Jurkiewicz P, Dejneka A, Stephanopoulos N, Lunov O. Protein Corona Inhibits Endosomal Escape of Functionalized DNA Nanostructures in Living Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:46375-46390. [PMID: 34569777 PMCID: PMC9590277 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c14401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
DNA nanostructures (DNs) can be designed in a controlled and programmable manner, and these structures are increasingly used in a variety of biomedical applications, such as the delivery of therapeutic agents. When exposed to biological liquids, most nanomaterials become covered by a protein corona, which in turn modulates their cellular uptake and the biological response they elicit. However, the interplay between living cells and designed DNs are still not well established. Namely, there are very limited studies that assess protein corona impact on DN biological activity. Here, we analyzed the uptake of functionalized DNs in three distinct hepatic cell lines. Our analysis indicates that cellular uptake is linearly dependent on the cell size. Further, we show that the protein corona determines the endolysosomal vesicle escape efficiency of DNs coated with an endosome escape peptide. Our study offers an important basis for future optimization of DNs as delivery systems for various biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbora Smolková
- Department of Optical and Biophysical Systems, Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 18221, Czech Republic
| | - Tara MacCulloch
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Tyler F Rockwood
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Minghui Liu
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Skylar J W Henry
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Adam Frtús
- Department of Optical and Biophysical Systems, Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 18221, Czech Republic
| | - Mariia Uzhytchak
- Department of Optical and Biophysical Systems, Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 18221, Czech Republic
| | - Mariia Lunova
- Department of Optical and Biophysical Systems, Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 18221, Czech Republic
- Institute for Clinical & Experimental Medicine (IKEM), Prague 14021, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Hof
- J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 18223, Czech Republic
| | - Piotr Jurkiewicz
- J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 18223, Czech Republic
| | - Alexandr Dejneka
- Department of Optical and Biophysical Systems, Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 18221, Czech Republic
| | - Nicholas Stephanopoulos
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Oleg Lunov
- Department of Optical and Biophysical Systems, Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 18221, Czech Republic
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Quagliarini E, Di Santo R, Palchetti S, Ferri G, Cardarelli F, Pozzi D, Caracciolo G. Effect of Protein Corona on The Transfection Efficiency of Lipid-Coated Graphene Oxide-Based Cell Transfection Reagents. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12:E113. [PMID: 32019150 PMCID: PMC7076454 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12020113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Coating graphene oxide nanoflakes with cationic lipids leads to highly homogeneous nanoparticles (GOCL NPs) with optimised physicochemical properties for gene delivery applications. In view of in vivo applications, here we use dynamic light scattering, micro-electrophoresis and one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to explore the bionano interactions between GOCL/DNA complexes (hereafter referred to as "grapholipoplexes") and human plasma. When exposed to increasing protein concentrations, grapholipoplexes get covered by a protein corona that evolves with protein concentration, leading to biocoronated complexes with modified physicochemical properties. Here, we show that the formation of a protein corona dramatically changes the interactions of grapholipoplexes with four cancer cell lines: two breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB and MCF-7 cells), a malignant glioma cell line (U-87 MG) and an epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (CACO-2). Luciferase assay clearly indicates a monotonous reduction of the transfection efficiency of biocoronated grapholipoplexes as a function of protein concentration. Finally, we report evidence that a protein corona formed at high protein concentrations (as those present in in vivo studies) promotes a higher capture of biocoronated grapholipoplexes within degradative intracellular compartments (e.g., lysosomes), with respect to their pristine counterparts. On the other hand, coronas formed at low protein concentrations (human plasma = 2.5%) lead to high transfection efficiency with no appreciable cytotoxicity. We conclude with a critical assessment of relevant perspectives for the development of novel biocoronated gene delivery systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Quagliarini
- Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| | - Riccardo Di Santo
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.D.S.); (S.P.)
| | - Sara Palchetti
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.D.S.); (S.P.)
| | - Gianmarco Ferri
- Laboratorio NEST, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza San Silvestro 12, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (G.F.); (F.C.)
| | - Francesco Cardarelli
- Laboratorio NEST, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza San Silvestro 12, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (G.F.); (F.C.)
| | - Daniela Pozzi
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.D.S.); (S.P.)
| | - Giulio Caracciolo
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.D.S.); (S.P.)
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Chiacchiaretta M, Bramini M, Rocchi A, Armirotti A, Giordano E, Vázquez E, Bandiera T, Ferroni S, Cesca F, Benfenati F. Graphene Oxide Upregulates the Homeostatic Functions of Primary Astrocytes and Modulates Astrocyte-to-Neuron Communication. Nano Lett 2018; 18:5827-5838. [PMID: 30088941 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Graphene-based materials are the focus of intense research efforts to devise novel theranostic strategies for targeting the central nervous system. In this work, we have investigated the consequences of long-term exposure of primary rat astrocytes to pristine graphene (GR) and graphene oxide (GO) flakes. We demonstrate that GR/GO interfere with a variety of intracellular processes as a result of their internalization through the endolysosomal pathway. Graphene-exposed astrocytes acquire a more differentiated morphological phenotype associated with extensive cytoskeletal rearrangements. Profound functional alterations are induced by GO internalization, including the upregulation of inward-rectifying K+ channels and of Na+-dependent glutamate uptake, which are linked to the astrocyte capacity to control the extracellular homeostasis. Interestingly, GO-pretreated astrocytes promote the functional maturation of cocultured primary neurons by inducing an increase in intrinsic excitability and in the density of GABAergic synapses. The results indicate that graphene nanomaterials profoundly affect astrocyte physiology in vitro with consequences for neuronal network activity. This work supports the view that GO-based materials could be of great interest to address pathologies of the central nervous system associated with astrocyte dysfunctions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Ester Vázquez
- Departamento de Química Orgánica , Universidad de Castilla La-Mancha , 13071 Ciudad Real , Spain
| | | | - Stefano Ferroni
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology , University of Bologna , 40126 Bologna , Italy
| | - Fabrizia Cesca
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico , San Martino, Genova , Italy
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Meder F, Thomas SS, Fitzpatrick LW, Alahmari A, Wang S, Beirne JG, Vaz G, Redmond G, Dawson KA. Labeling the Structural Integrity of Nanoparticles for Advanced In Situ Tracking in Bionanotechnology. ACS Nano 2016; 10:4660-4671. [PMID: 26959685 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6b01001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Observing structural integrity of nanoparticles is essential in bionanotechnology but not always straightforward to measure in situ and in real-time. Fluorescent labels used for tracking intrinsically nonfluorescent nanomaterials generally do not allow simultaneous observation of integrity. Consequently, structural changes like degradation and disassembly cannot easily be followed in situ using fluorescence signals. We show that thioflavin T (ThT), a fluorophore and molecular rotor known to tag specific fibril structures in amyloids, can "label" the structural integrity of widely used and intrinsically nonfluorescent, silica nanoparticles (SiNPs). Entrapment of ThT in SiNPs controls the fluorohphore's relaxation pathway and leads to a red-shifted fluorescence spectrum providing real time information on SiNP integrity. The dynamic change of ThT fluorescence during degradation of doped SiNPs is found much higher than that of common labels fluorescein and rhodamine. Degradation kinetics of core-shell structures recorded by ThT fluorescence and light scattering prove the capability to clearly distinguish structural features during SiNPs degradation and allow obtaining degradation kinetics in vitro, in biological media, in serum, and in cells. The effect is transferable to different types of materials, here shown for ThT incorporated SiNPs with tightly tailorable sizes (9-100 nm), poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles, poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) nanoparticles, and iron-doped-SiNPs (FeSiNPs). We thus suggest molecular rotors such as ThT as additional labels to effectively and easily sense nanoparticle structural status in situ and to enhance understanding and development of programmed nanoparticle disassembly in bionanotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Meder
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, University College Dublin , School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Belfield 4, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Steffi S Thomas
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, University College Dublin , School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Belfield 4, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Laurence W Fitzpatrick
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, University College Dublin , School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Belfield 4, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Amirah Alahmari
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, University College Dublin , School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Belfield 4, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Suxiao Wang
- Functional Nanomaterials, University College Dublin , School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Belfield 4, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Jason G Beirne
- Functional Nanomaterials, University College Dublin , School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Belfield 4, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Gizela Vaz
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, University College Dublin , School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Belfield 4, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Gareth Redmond
- Functional Nanomaterials, University College Dublin , School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Belfield 4, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Kenneth A Dawson
- Centre for BioNano Interactions, University College Dublin , School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Belfield 4, Dublin, Ireland
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