TY - JOUR A1 - Kepsutlu, B. A1 - Wycisk, V. A1 - Achazi, K. A1 - Kapishnikov, S. A1 - Perez-Berna, A.J. A1 - Guttmann, P. A1 - Cossmer, Antje A1 - Pereiro, E. A1 - Ewers, H. A1 - Ballauff, M. A1 - Schneider, G. A1 - McNally, J.G. T1 - Cells Undergo Major Changes in the Quantity of Cytoplasmic Organelles after Uptake of Gold Nanoparticles with Biologically Relevant Surface Coatings N2 - Here, we use cryo soft X-ray tomography (cryo-SXT), which delivers 3D ultrastructural volumes of intact cells without chemical fixation or staining, to gain insight about nanoparticle uptake for nanomedicine. We initially used dendritic polyglycerol sulfate (dPGS) with potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications in inflammation. Although dPGS-coated gold nanoparticle (dPGS-AuNP) uptake followed a conventional endocytic/degradative pathway in human lung epithelial cell lines (A549), with cryo-SXT, we detected ∼5% of dPGS-AuNPs in the cytoplasm, a level undetectable by confocal light microscopy. We also observed ∼5% of dPGS-AuNPs in a rarely identified subcellular site, namely, lipid droplets, which are important for cellular energy metabolism. Finally, we also found substantial changes in the quantity of cytoplasmic organelles upon dPGS-AuNP uptake over the 1–6 h incubation period; the number of small vesicles and mitochondria significantly increased, and the number of multivesicular bodies and the number and volume of lipid droplets significantly decreased. Although nearly all organelle numbers at 6 h were still significantly different from controls, most appeared to be returning to normal levels. To test for generality, we also examined cells after uptake of gold nanoparticles coated with a different agent, polyethylenimine (PEI), used for nucleic acid delivery. PEI nanoparticles did not enter lipid droplets, but they induced similar, albeit less pronounced, changes in the quantity of cytoplasmic organelles. We confirmed these changes in organelle quantities for both nanoparticle coatings by confocal fluorescence microscopy. We suggest this cytoplasmic remodeling could reflect a more common cellular response to coated gold nanoparticle uptake. KW - Cellular trafficking KW - Confocal laser scanning microscopy KW - Cytoplasmic remodeling KW - Dendritic polyglycerol sulfate KW - Polyethylenimine KW - 3D ultrastructural analysis KW - Cryo-soft X-ray tomography PY - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.9b09264 VL - 14 IS - 2 SP - 2248 EP - 2264 AN - OPUS4-50464 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -