Effects of engineered-nanoparticles on permeability of bronchial epithelial cell cultures from subjects with chroni̇c obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely used because of common use of nanotechnology in daily life. In vivo and In vitro studies reported detrimental effects of NPs at cellular level. However, the underlying mechanisms are not adequately known. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on permeability and toxicity of bronchial epithelial cell (BEC) cultures of smokers with and without COPD, and non-smokers. We incubated BEC cultures with MWCNT (0-100 µg/ml) and studied trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) at T0, T2, T4, T6 and T24 in the absence and presence of roflumilast (0.01, 0.1, 1 µM) or formoterol (0.01, 1, 100 µM). Cell culture supernatants, which collected at T24, were analysed for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). MWCNT did not show any effect on TEER of BEC cultures. Likewise, formoterol and roflumilast did not affect TEER. Although MWCNT did not show any significant effect on LDH release from BECs from COPD patients and smokers, 50 µg/ml (median= 0.5311 IU/µg cellular protein v.s. 1.413 IU/µg cellular protein, p= 0.0001) and 100 µg/ml (median= 0.5311 IU/µg cellular protein v.s. 3.357 IU/µg cell protein, p<0.0001) MWCNT significantly induced LDH release from BECs of non-smokers. Higher concentrations of formoterol (100 µM) and roflumilast (1µM) increased the LDH levels of BECs, whereas lower concentrations these drugs decreased LDH levels of BECs. Our findings suggest that MWCNT, at the concentrations studied, have limited toxic effects on BEC cultures.