Compromised Autophagic Effect of Polystyrene Nanoplastics Mediated by Protein Corona Was Recovered after Lysosomal Degradation of Corona

The adverse biological and ecological consequences of plastic debris have become a serious problem worldwide. Evidences have uncovered the accumulation of nanoplastics (NPs) in organisms. In a complex biological environment, proteins are prone to adsorbed onto the NPs’ surface and form a protein corona layer, which mediates the interaction of NPs with cells. Here, we discovered the interaction of polystyrene (PS) NPs with protein fetal bovine serum (FBS) and altered cytotoxic effects. Mechanistically, prefabricated FBS protein corona mediated the relief of autophagic flux blockage, autophagosomes accumulation, and lysosomal damage in RAW264.7 cells caused by PS NPs. Using an individual fluorescent protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a corona surrogate, we demonstrated that coronal BSA remains, at least partially, on the surface of PS NPs during the initial stage of internalization and protects cell membrane from PS NPs-induced damage. However, along with the degradation of corona in lysosomes, reappearance of cytotoxicity was observed. Herein, we provided a proof of principle of the manipulation of corona on NPs’ toxicity and we expect the result will promote the further safety assessment of NPs.