Cellular Effects of In Vitro-Digested Aluminum Nanomaterials on Human Intestinal Cells

Aluminum (Al) can be taken up from food, packaging, or the environment and thus reaches the human gastrointestinal tract. Its toxic potential after oral uptake is still discussed. The fate of different solid and ionic Al species during the passage through the digestive tract is the focus of this research, as well as the cellular effects caused by these different Al species. The present study combines the physicochemical processing of three recently studied Al species (metallic Al⁰, mineral Al₂O₃, and soluble AlCl₃) in artificial digestion fluids with in vitro cell systems for the human intestinal barrier. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) methods were used to characterize the Al species in the artificial digestion fluids and in cell culture medium for proliferating and differentiated intestinal Caco-2 cells. Cytotoxicity testing and cellular impedance measurements were applied to address the effects of digested Al species on cell viability and cell proliferation. Microarray-based transcriptome analyses and quantitative real-time PCR were conducted to obtain a deeper insight into cellular mechanisms of action and generated indications for cellular oxidative stress and an influence on xenobiotic metabolism, connected with alterations in associated signaling pathways. These cellular responses, which were predominantly caused by formerly ionic Al species and only at very high concentrations, were not impacted by artificial digestion. A two-directional conversion of Al between ionic species and solid particles occurred throughout all segments of the gastrointestinal tract, as evidenced by the presence of nanoscaled particles. Nevertheless, this presence did not increase the toxicity of the respective Al species.