BackgroundTiO2 particles are commonly used as dietary supplements and may contain up to 36% of nano-sized particles (TiO2-NPs). Still impact and translocation of NPs through the gut epithelium is poorly documented.ResultsWe show that, in vivo and ex vivo, agglomerates of TiO2-NPs cross both the regular ileum epithelium and the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) and alter the paracellular permeability of the ileum and colon epithelia. In vitro, they accumulate in M-cells and mucus-secreting cells, much less in enterocytes. They do not cause overt cytotoxicity or apoptosis. They translocate through a model of FAE only, but induce tight junctions remodeling in the regular ileum epithelium, which is a sign of integrity alteration and suggests paracellular passage of NPs. Finally we prove that TiO2-NPs do not dissolve when sequestered up to 24 h in gut cells.ConclusionsTaken together these data prove that TiO2-NPs would possibly translocate through both the regular epithelium lining the ileum and through Peyer’s patches, would induce epithelium impairment, and would persist in gut cells where they would possibly induce chronic damage.

Graphical Abstract Highlights d MemBright allows for bright and specific staining of EVs d The zebrafish embryo allows tracking of tumor EVs at high spatiotemporal resolution d Circulating tumor EVs are mostly taken up by endothelial cells and patrolling macrophages d Zebrafish melanoma EVs favor metastatic outgrowth in zebrafish embryos

The rigorous testing of hypotheses on suitable sample cohorts is a major limitation in translational research. This is particularly the case for the validation of protein biomarkers where the lack of accurate, reproducible and sensitive assays for most proteins has precluded the systematic assessment of hundreds of potential marker proteins described in the literature. Here, we describe a high throughput method for the development and refinement of selected reaction monitoring (SRM) assays for human proteins. The method was applied to generate such assays for more than 1000 cancer-associated proteins, which are functionally related to candidate cancer driver mutations. We used the assays to determine the detectability of the target proteins in two clinically relevant samples, plasma and urine. 182 proteins were detected in depleted plasma, spanning five orders of magnitude in abundance and reaching below a concentration of 10 ng/mL. The narrower concentration range of proteins in urine allowed the detection of 408 proteins. Moreover, we demonstrate that these SRM assays allow the reproducible quantification of 34 biomarker candidates across 84 patient plasma samples. Through public access to the entire assay library, which will also be expandable in the future, researchers will be able to target their cancer-associated proteins of interest in any sample type using the detectability information in plasma and urine as a guide. The generated reference map of SRM assays for cancer-associated proteins is a valuable resource for accelerating and planning biomarker verification studies.