Identifying cell receptors for the nanoparticle protein corona using genome screens

• Published in: Nature chemical biology Vol. 18; no. 9; pp. 1023 - 1031
• Main Authors: Ngo, Wayne, Wu, Jamie L. Y., Lin, Zachary P., Zhang, Yuwei, Bussin, Bram, Granda Farias, Adrian, Syed, Abdullah M., Chan, Katherine, Habsid, Andrea, Moffat, Jason, Chan, Warren C. W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Nature Publishing Group US 01-09-2022; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/92/287/1197; 631/92/612/1237; 631/92/93; 639/301/54/152; Animals; Apolipoprotein B; Biochemical Engineering; Biochemistry; Bioorganic Chemistry; Blood Proteins; Cell Biology; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Density; Genomes; Gold; Low density lipoprotein; Low density lipoprotein receptors; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Metal Nanoparticles; Mice; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Protein Corona - chemistry; Protein Corona - metabolism; Proteins; Receptor density; Receptors; Receptors, Cell Surface; Receptors, LDL - genetics; Scientific imaging; Serum proteins; Spectroscopy
• ISSN: 1552-4450; 1552-4469
• DOI: 10.1038/s41589-022-01093-5

Nanotechnology provides platforms to deliver medical agents to specific cells. However, the nanoparticle’s surface becomes covered with serum proteins in the blood after administration despite engineering efforts to protect it with targeting or blocking molecules. Here, we developed a strategy to identify the main interactions between nanoparticle-adsorbed proteins and a cell by integrating mass spectrometry with pooled genome screens and Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes analysis. We found that the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor was responsible for approximately 75% of serum-coated gold nanoparticle uptake in U-87 MG cells. Apolipoprotein B and complement C8 proteins on the nanoparticle mediated uptake through the LDL receptor. In vivo, nanoparticle accumulation correlated with LDL receptor expression in the organs of mice. A detailed understanding of how adsorbed serum proteins bind to cell receptors will lay the groundwork for controlling the delivery of nanoparticles at the molecular level to diseased tissues for therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
A combination of mass spectrometry, pooled genome screens and STRING analysis identifies key uptake mediating interactions between nanoparticle-adsorbed proteins and cells via the low-density lipoprotein receptor.