Dog aortic endothelial cells as a model for studying the effects of nanoplastics

A growing concern regards plastic fragments mainly nanoplastics (NP). The present study was set up on aortic endothelial cells (CnAEOC) since dog is a model for translational medicine. Through fluorescence microscopy, we observed an interaction between NP and cells, demonstrating a localization at the cytoplasmic level. Furthermore, the data collected show a disruption of both cell proliferation and metabolic activity. The results also show the induction of oxidative stress. In detail, NP caused an increase in the levels of ROS production and an inhibition of enzymatic defense systems. On the contrary, there was no alteration of the non-enzymatic defense mechanism. The analysis conducted to evaluate a possible induction of autophagy, a survival mechanism implemented by cells, following exposure to NP reported the absence of autophagy involvement in the model analyzed. Finally, investigations were conducted regarding the involvement of NP in gene expression processes. Both RNA-seq and RT-PCR did not highlight differentially expressed genes in treated cells. RNA-seq profiles of dog aortic endothelial cells treated with polystyrene nanoplastics 25 µM for 48 hours and untreated