Different responses of Caco-2 and MCF-7 cells to silver nanoparticles are based on highly similar mechanisms of action

AbstractThe mode of action of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is suggested to be exerted through both Ag+ and AgNP dependent mechanisms. Ingestion is one of the major NP exposure routes, and potential effects are often studied using Caco-2 cells, a well-established model for the gut epithelium. MCF-7 cells are epithelial breast cancer cells with extensive well-characterized toxicogenomics profiles. In the present study, we aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the cellular molecular responses in Caco-2 and MCF-7 cells after AgNP exposure in order to evaluate whether epithelial cells derived from different tissues demonstrated similar responses. These insights could possibly reduce the size of cell panels for NP hazard identification screening purposes. AgNPs of 20, 30, 60, and 110 nm, and AgNO3 were exposed for 6 h and 24 h. AgNPs were shown to be taken up and dissolve intracellularly. Compared with MCF-7 cells, Caco-2 cells showed a higher sensitivity to AgNPs, slower gene expression kinetics and absence ...