Acute and long-term effects of titanium-doped polyethylene terephthalate nanoplastics in human bronchial epithelial cells
Micro/nanoplastics (MNPLs) are widespread airborne pollutants whose potential health risks require urgent investigation. Critical aspects for experimental assessment include MNPL type, exposure scenario, target cells, and relevant biomarkers of effect. Here, we used titanium-doped polyethylene terep...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:uabarcelona_::c2feb204b00f1bbdb79450e25752c64a |
| Acesso em linha: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/327418 https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.jes.2026.03.030 |
| Access Level: | acceso embargado |
| Palavra-chave: | PET nanoplastics Beas-2B cells Acute and long-term exposure Genotoxicity Cytokine expression Hallmark carcinogenesis biomarkers |
| Resumo: | Micro/nanoplastics (MNPLs) are widespread airborne pollutants whose potential health risks require urgent investigation. Critical aspects for experimental assessment include MNPL type, exposure scenario, target cells, and relevant biomarkers of effect. Here, we used titanium-doped polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanoplastics (PET(Ti)-NPLs), derived from the degradation of opaque polyethylene terephthalate bottles containing TiO₂ nanoparticles, as a model of environmentally representative NPLs. To mimic human exposure, both acute (24-48 h) and long-term (8-15 weeks) exposures were evaluated in non-tumorigenic human bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B) cells, a relevant respiratory model. Biomarkers assessed included oxidative stress, genotoxicity, and cytokine expression after acute exposure, and genotoxicity, cytokine expression, and cell transformation markers (anchorage-independent growth, migration, invasion) after prolonged exposure. Acute exposure caused modest oxidative and inflammatory responses with detectable DNA strand breaks. In contrast, chronic exposure induced persistent genomic instability, altered cytokine and oncogenic signaling, and acquisition of early oncogenic changes. Notably, after 15 weeks, PET(Ti)-NPLs triggered sustained DNA damage, dynamic modulation of phosphorylated H2AX histone, disrupted cytokine and cancer-related protein profiles, and enhanced migratory and invasive behaviors, even without anchorage-independent growth. These findings demonstrate that sub-toxic concentrations of PET(Ti)-NPLs promote time-dependent, early carcinogenic-like phenotypes in human bronchial epithelial cells, underscoring the importance of considering long-term exposure scenarios in MNPL risk assessment. |
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