Analysis of the Direct and Indirect Effects of Nanoparticle Exposure on Microglial and Neuronal Cells In Vitro.

Environmental or biomedical exposure to nanoparticles (NPs) can results in translocation and accumulation of NPs in the brain, which can lead to health-related problems. NPs have been shown to induce toxicity to neuronal cells through several direct mechanisms, but only a few studies have also explored the indirect effects of NPs, through consequences due to the exposure of neighboring cells to NPs. In this study, we analysed possible direct and indirect effects of NPs (polyacrylic acid (PAA) coated cobalt ferrite NP, TiO P25 and maghemite NPs) on immortalized mouse microglial cells and differentiated CAD mouse neuronal cells in monoculture (direct toxicity) or in transwell co-culture system (indirect toxicity).