[Toxicological effects of copper on human intestinal Caco-2 cells].

Objective: To study the toxicological effects of copper on human intestinal Caco-2 cells.
Methods: The effects of copper on human intestinal Caco-2 cells were evaluated by MTT conversion, intra-cellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), cloning efficiency and changes of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) activities in Caco-2 cells. In addition, Caco-2 cells and Salmonella enteritidis served as the models to examine the effect of copper on the host-parasite interaction.
Results: Copper induced a dose-dependent decrease of cell viability measured by MTT assay; by using the fluorescent probe 2, 7-dichlorofluorescin diacetate, a significant increase of ROS production in Cu-treated cells was detected; the significant time- and dose-dependent decrease of P-gp activities in Cu-treated cells was demonstrated by increased accumulation of rhodamine 123 in cells. Copper treatment also increased the efficiency of the bacterial invasion, but decreased the number of bacteria surviving in the intracellular environment.
Conclusion: Copper induced a variety of toxicological endpoints which might be caused by oxidative damage, but the effect of copper on cell-bacteria interaction needs to be further investigated.