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Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) cause degeneration of cytoskeleton and disrupt synaptic machinery of cultured cortical neurons.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), owing to their effective antimicrobial properties, are being widely used in a broad range of applications. These include, but are not limited to, antibacterial materials, the textile industry, cosmetics, coatings of various household appliances and medical devices. Despite their extensive use, little is known about AgNP safety and toxicity vis-à-vis human and animal health. Recent studies have drawn attention towards potential neurotoxic effects of AgNPs, however, the primary cellular and molecular targets of AgNP action/s remain to be defined. RESULTS: Here we examine the effects of ultra fine scales (20 nm) of AgNPs at various concentrations (1, 5, 10 and 50 ?g/ml) on primary rat cortical cell cultures. We found that AgNPs (at 1-50 ?g/ml) not only inhibited neurite outgrowth and reduced cell viability of premature neurons and glial cells, but also induced degeneration of neuronal processes of mature neurons. Our immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy studies further demonstrated that AgNPs induced the loss of cytoskeleton components such as the ?-tubulin and filamentous actin (F-actin). AgNPs also dramatically reduced the number of synaptic clusters of the presynaptic vesicle protein synaptophysin, and the postsynaptic receptor density protein PSD-95. Finally, AgNP exposure also resulted in mitochondria dysfunction in rat cortical cells. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our data show that AgNPs induce toxicity in neurons, which involves degradation of cytoskeleton components, perturbations of pre- and postsynaptic proteins, and mitochondrial dysfunction leading to cell death. Our study clearly demonstrates the potential detrimental effects of AgNPs on neuronal development and physiological functions and warns against its prolific usage.

SUBMITTER: Xu F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3695839 | biostudies-other | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) cause degeneration of cytoskeleton and disrupt synaptic machinery of cultured cortical neurons.

Xu Fenglian F Piett Cortt C Farkas Svetlana S Qazzaz Munir M Syed Naweed I NI

Molecular brain 20130619

<h4>Background</h4>Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), owing to their effective antimicrobial properties, are being widely used in a broad range of applications. These include, but are not limited to, antibacterial materials, the textile industry, cosmetics, coatings of various household appliances and medical devices. Despite their extensive use, little is known about AgNP safety and toxicity vis-à-vis human and animal health. Recent studies have drawn attention towards potential neurotoxic effects o ...[more]

PMID: 23782671

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Project description:In contrast to the prenatal topographic development of sensory cortices, striatal circuit organization is slow and requires the functional maturation of cortical and thalamic excitatory inputs throughout the first postnatal month. While mechanisms regulating synapse development and plasticity are quite well described at excitatory synapses of glutamatergic neurons in the neocortex, comparatively little is known of how this translates to glutamate synapses onto GABAergic neurons in the striatum. Here we investigate excitatory striatal synapse plasticity in an in vitro system, where glutamate can be studied in isolation from dopamine and other neuromodulators. We examined pre-and post-synaptic structural and functional plasticity in GABAergic striatal spiny projection neurons (SPNs), co-cultured with glutamatergic cortical neurons. After synapse formation, medium-term (24 h) TTX silencing increased the density of filopodia, and modestly decreased dendritic spine density, when assayed at 21 days in vitro (DIV). Spine reductions appeared to require residual spontaneous activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors. Conversely, chronic (14 days) TTX silencing markedly reduced spine density without any observed increase in filopodia density. Time-dependent, biphasic changes to the presynaptic marker Synapsin-1 were also observed, independent of residual spontaneous activity. Acute silencing (3 h) did not affect presynaptic markers or postsynaptic structures. To induce rapid, activity-dependent plasticity in striatal neurons, a chemical NMDA receptor-dependent "long-term potentiation (LTP)" paradigm was employed. Within 30 min, this increased spine and GluA1 cluster densities, and the percentage of spines containing GluA1 clusters, without altering the presynaptic signal. The results demonstrate that the growth and pruning of dendritic protrusions is an active process, requiring glutamate receptor activity in striatal projection neurons. Furthermore, NMDA receptor activation is sufficient to drive glutamatergic structural plasticity in SPNs, in the absence of dopamine or other neuromodulators.

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Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) cause degeneration of cytoskeleton and disrupt synaptic machinery of cultured cortical neurons.

Publications

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) cause degeneration of cytoskeleton and disrupt synaptic machinery of cultured cortical neurons.

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