Serum Lowers Bioactivity and Uptake of Synthetic Amorphous Silica by Alveolar Macrophages in a Particle Specific Manner

Various cell types are compromised by synthetic amorphous silica (SAS) if they are exposed to SAS under protein-free conditions in vitro. Addition of serum protein can mitigate most SAS effects, but it is not clear whether this is solely caused by protein corona formation and/or altered particle uptake. Because sensitive and reliable mass spectrometric measurements of SiO2 NP are cumbersome, quantitative uptake studies of SAS at the cellular level are largely missing. In this study, we combined the comparison of SAS effects on alveolar macrophages in the presence and absence of foetal calf serum with mass spectrometric measurement of Si-28 in alkaline cell lysates. Effects on the release of lactate dehydrogenase, glucuronidase, TNF alpha and H2O2 of precipitated (SIPERNAT(R) 50, SIPERNAT(R) 160) and fumed SAS (AEROSIL(R) OX50, AEROSIL(R) 380 F) were lowered close to control level by foetal calf serum (FCS) added to the medium. Using a quantitative high resolution ICP-MS measurement combined with electron microscopy, we found that FCS reduced the uptake of particle mass by 9.9% (SIPERNAT(R) 50) up to 83.8% (AEROSIL(R) OX50). Additionally, larger particle agglomerates were less frequent in cells in the presence of FCS. Plotting values for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), glucuronidase (GLU) or tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) against the mean cellular dose showed the reduction of bioactivity with a particle sedimentation bias. As a whole, the mitigating effects of FCS on precipitated and fumed SAS on alveolar macrophages are caused by a reduction of bioactivity and by a lowered internalization, and both effects occur in a particle specific manner. The method to quantify nanosized SiO2 in cells is a valuable tool for future in vitro studies.

Automated summary

The presence of fetal calf serum was found to mitigate the effects of various synthetic amorphous silica (SAS) particles on alveolar macrophages by reducing particle uptake and lowering bioactivity in a particle-specific manner. This study highlights the importance of quantifying nanosized SiO2 in cells as a valuable tool for future in vitro studies.