AUTHOR=Mancuso Francesca , Arato Iva , Di Michele Alessandro , Antognelli Cinzia , Angelini Luca , Bellucci Catia , Lilli Cinzia , Boncompagni Simona , Fusella Aurora , Bartolini Desirée , Russo Carla , Moretti Massimo , Nocchetti Morena , Gambelunghe Angela , Muzi Giacomo , Baroni Tiziano , Giovagnoli Stefano , Luca Giovanni 

TITLE=Effects of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Porcine Prepubertal Sertoli Cells: An “In Vitro” Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.751915

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2021.751915

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>The increasing use of nanomaterials in a variety of industrial, commercial, medical products, and their environmental spreading has raised concerns regarding their potential toxicity on human health. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs) represent one of the most commonly used nanoparticles. Emerging evidence suggested that exposure to TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs induced reproductive toxicity in male animals. In this <italic>in vitro</italic> study, porcine prepubertal Sertoli cells (SCs) have undergone acute (24 h) and chronic (from 1 up to 3 weeks) exposures at both subtoxic (5 µg/ml) and toxic (100 µg/ml) doses of TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs. After performing synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles, we focused on SCs morphological/ultrastructural analysis, apoptosis, and functionality (AMH, inhibin B), ROS production and oxidative DNA damage, gene expression of antioxidant enzymes, proinflammatory/immunomodulatory cytokines, and MAPK kinase signaling pathway. We found that 5 µg/ml TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs did not induce substantial morphological changes overtime, but ultrastructural alterations appeared at the third week. Conversely, SCs exposed to 100 µg/ml TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs throughout the whole experiment showed morphological and ultrastructural modifications. TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs exposure, at each concentration, induced the activation of caspase-3 at the first and second week. AMH and inhibin B gene expression significantly decreased up to the third week at both concentrations of nanoparticles. The toxic dose of TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs induced a marked increase of intracellular ROS and DNA damage at all exposure times. At both concentrations, the increased gene expression of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD and HO-1 was observed whereas, at the toxic dose, a clear proinflammatory stress was evaluated along with the steady increase in the gene expression of IL-1α and IL-6. At both concentrations, an increased phosphorylation ratio of p-ERK1/2 was observed up to the second week followed by the increased phosphorylation ratio of p-NF-kB in the chronic exposure. Although <italic>in vitro</italic>, this pilot study highlights the adverse effects even of subtoxic dose of TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs on porcine prepubertal SCs functionality and viability and, more importantly, set the basis for further <italic>in vivo</italic> studies, especially in chronic exposure at subtoxic dose of TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs, a condition closer to the human exposure to this nanoagent.</p>