nn6b06411_si_003.avi (49 MB)
The Intracellular Destiny of the Protein Corona: A Study on its Cellular Internalization and Evolution
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posted on 2016-10-31, 00:00 authored by Filippo Bertoli, David Garry, Marco
P. Monopoli, Anna Salvati, Kenneth A. DawsonIt
has been well established that the early stages of nanoparticle–cell
interactions are governed, at least in part, by the layer of proteins
and other biomolecules adsorbed and slowly exchanged with the surrounding
biological media (biomolecular corona). Subsequent to membrane interactions,
nanoparticles are typically internalized into the cell and trafficked
along defined pathways such as, in many cases, the endolysosomal pathway.
Indeed, if the original corona is partially retained on the nanoparticle
surface, the biomolecules in this layer may play an important role
in determining subsequent cellular processing. In this work, using
a combination of organelle separation and fluorescence labeling of
the initial extracellular corona, we clarify its intracellular evolution
as nanoparticles travel within the cell. We show that specific proteins
present in the original protein corona are retained on the nanoparticles
until they accumulate in lysosomes, and, once there, they are degraded.
We also report on how different bare surfaces (amino and carboxyl
modified) affect the details of this evolution. One overarching discovery
is that the same serum proteins can exhibit different intracellular
processing when carried inside cells by nanoparticles, as components
of their corona, compared to what is observed when they are transported
freely from the extracellular medium.