Kidney Week

Abstract: TH-PO798

Microplastics: First Proteomic Analysis on Kidney Tubular Cells

Session Information

• Pathology and Lab Medicine - I
  November 02, 2023 | Location: Exhibit Hall, Pennsylvania Convention Center
  Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Category: Pathology and Lab Medicine

• 1800 Pathology and Lab Medicine

Authors

• La Porta, Edoardo, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Edoardo La Porta,

• Bruschi, Maurizio, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Maurizio Bruschi,

• Candiano, Giovanni, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Giovanni Candiano,

• Artini, Cristina, Universita degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Cristina Artini,

• Verzola, Daniela, Universita degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Daniela Verzola,

• Massardo, Sara, Universita degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Sara Massardo,

• Cravedi, Paolo, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States

Paolo Cravedi,

• Esposito, Pasquale, Universita degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Pasquale Esposito,

• Angeletti, Andrea, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Andrea Angeletti,

• Lugani, Francesca, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Francesca Lugani,

• Bigatti, Carolina, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Carolina Bigatti,

• Verrina, Enrico E., Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Enrico E. Verrina,

• Ghiggeri, Gian Marco, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Gian Marco Ghiggeri,

• Alberti, Stefano, Universita degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Liguria, Italy

Stefano Alberti,

• Gentile, Micaela, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States

Micaela Gentile,

Background

Microplastics (fragments < 5 mm in diameter) and nanoplastics (< 1 μm) are ubiquitous in the environment. Microplastics (MPs) absorb environmental pollutants, such as bisphenol A (BPA), and release them into tissues increasing their toxicity. Their presence has been proved in human blood and human tissues, such as placenta and lung, and in cirrhotic liver.
Biological effects of MPs are inflammation, oxidative stress and alteration of metabolic pathways. We performed proteomic analysis to evaluate the toxicity of polyethylene (PE) and bisphenol-A (BPA) MPs on renal tubular cells (HK2).

Methods

HK-2 cultures were exposed to BPA, PE Microspheres (PE-MP) and MP combined with BPA. We performed a proteomic analysis by mass spectrometry (MS). Analysis of data were performed using unsupervised hierarchical clustering using multidimensional scaling, non-linear support vector machine (SVM) learning, and partial least squares discriminant analysis. In SVM learning, a fourfold cross-validation approach was applied to estimate the prediction and classification accuracy.

Results

Analysis showed a clear differentiation of the HK2 proteome based on conditioning and identified a "core" of proteins, significant at ANOVA and above the 95th percentile for "fold increase" and significant at T-test compared with controls, highly discriminatory between groups. A final set of 5 proteins was selected to be validated for distinguishing features.
PPIAL4C accelerate the folding of proteins. Nephronectin is involved in cellular adhesion. GDF15 is a markers of stress conditions. IGFBP7 is a biomarker of acute kidney damage. CDKN1C is a negative regulator of cell proliferation.

Conclusion

MP and BPA significantly modify the protein expression in renal tubular cells.
These findings highlight the urgent need for additional research into the toxic effects of plastic debris on human kidneys and the eventual link to kidney diseases.