Autophagy promotes degradation of polyethyleneimine–alginate nanoparticles in endothelial progenitor cells

Polyethyleneimine (PEI)–alginate (Alg) nanoparticle (NP) is a safe and effective vector for delivery of siRNA or DNA. Recent studies suggest that autophagy is related to cytotoxicity of PEI NPs. However, contribution of autophagy to degradation of PEI–Alg NPs remains unknown. CD34(+)VEGFR-3(+) endothelial progenitor cells isolated from rat bone marrow were treated with 25 kDa branched PEI modified by Alg. After treatment with the NPs, morphological changes and distribution of the NPs in the cells were examined with scanning and transmission electron microscopies. Cytotoxicity of the NPs was analyzed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, lactate dehydrogenase leakage and induction of apoptosis. The level of autophagy was assessed with expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 and formation of autophagic structures and amphisomes. Colocalization of LC3-positive puncta and the NPs was determined by LC3–GFP tracing. Cytotoxicity of PEI NPs was reduced greatly after modification with Alg. PEI–Alg NPs were distributed in mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticula and nuclei as well as cytoplasm. After phagocytosis of the NPs, expression of Beclin-1 mRNA and LC3 protein was upregulated, and the number of LC3-positive puncta, autophagic structures and amphisomes increased significantly. The number of lysosomes also increased obviously. There were LC3-positive puncta in nuclei, and some puncta were colocalized with the NPs. These results demonstrate that the activated autophagy promotes degradation of PEI–Alg NPs via multiple pathways.