Comprehensive Analysis of SiNPs on the Genome-Wide Transcriptional Changes in Caenorhabditis elegans

Comparative toxicity assessment of selected nanoparticles using different experimental model organisms

Nanoparticles are microscopic particles ranging in size from one to one hundred nanometers. Due to their extensive features, nanoparticles find widespread use in various fields worldwide, including cosmetics, medical diagnosis, pharmaceuticals, food products, drug delivery, electronic devices, artificial implants, and skincare. However, their unique characteristics have led to high demand and large-scale manufacturing, resulting in adverse impacts on the environment and bioaccumulation. Researchers have been exploring issues related to the environmental toxicity resulting from the high production of selected nanoparticles. This review discusses and addresses the adverse impacts of highly produced nanoparticles such as Carbon Nanotubes, Silica, Titanium dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Copper oxide, and Silver nanoparticles on different in vivo, in vitro, alternate invertebrate models, and plant models. Summarizing in vivo research on rats, rabbits, and earthworms, the review reveals that nanoparticles induce cytotoxicity, embryotoxicity, and DNA damage, primarily targeting organs like the brain, liver, kidney, and lungs, leading to nephron, neuro, and hepatotoxicity. Studying the effects on alternative models like zebrafish, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, sea urchins, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae demonstrates genotoxicity, apoptosis, and cell damage, affecting reproduction, locomotion, and behavior. Additionally, research on various cell lines such as HepG2, BALB/c 3 T3, and NCL-H292 during in vitro studies reveals apoptosis, increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), halted cell growth, and reduced cell metabolism. The review highlights the potentially adverse impacts of nanoparticles on the environment and living organisms if not used sustainably and with caution. The widespread use of nanoparticles poses hazards to both the environment and human health, necessitating appropriate actions and measures for their beneficial use. Therefore, this review focuses on widely used nanoparticles like zinc, titanium, copper, silica, carbon nanotubes, and silver, chosen due to their environmental toxicity when excessively used. Environmental toxicity of air, water, and soil is evaluated using environmentally relevant alternative animal models such as Drosophila, zebrafish, earthworms, etc., alongside in vivo and in vitro models, as depicted in the graphical abstract.

Evaluating the adverse effects and mechanisms of nanomaterial exposure on longevity of C. elegans: A literature meta-analysis and bioinformatics analysis of multi-transcriptome data

Exposure to large-size particulate air pollution (PM2.5 or PM10) has been reported to increase risks of aging-related diseases and human death, indicating the potential pro-aging effects of airborne nanomaterials with ultra-fine particle size (which have been widely applied in various fields). However, this hypothesis remains inconclusive. Here, a meta-analysis of 99 published literatures collected from electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library; from inception to June 2023) was performed to confirm the effects of nanomaterial exposure on aging-related indicators and molecular mechanisms in model animal C. elegans. The pooled analysis by Stata software showed that compared with the control, nanomaterial exposure significantly shortened the mean lifespan [standardized mean difference (SMD) = -2.30], reduced the survival rate (SMD = -4.57) and increased the death risk (hazard ratio = 1.36) accompanied by upregulation of ced-3, ced-4 and cep-1, while downregulation of ctl-2, ape-1, aak-2 and pmk-1. Furthermore, multi-transcriptome data associated with nanomaterial exposure were retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE32521, GSE41486, GSE24847, GSE59470, GSE70509, GSE14932, GSE93187, GSE114881, and GSE122728) and bioinformatics analyses showed that pseudogene prg-2, mRNAs of abu, car-1, gipc-1, gsp-3, kat-1, pod-2, acdh-8, hsp-60 and egrh-2 were downregulated, while R04A9.7 was upregulated after exposure to at least two types of nanomaterials. Resveratrol (abu, hsp-60, pod-2, egrh-2, acdh-8, gsp-3, car-1, kat-1, gipc-1), naringenin (kat-1, egrh-2), coumestrol (egrh-2) or swainsonine/niacin/ferulic acid (R04A9.7) exerted therapeutic effects by reversing the expression levels of target genes. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the necessity to use phytomedicines that target hub genes to delay aging for populations with nanomaterial exposure.

C5a/C5aR1 axis as a key driver promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in airway epithelial cells in silica nanoparticles-induced pulmonary fibrosis

Previous studies have shown that silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) exposure can affect the respiratory, cardiovascular, reproductive and other systems, with the lung being the primary target organ for the direct effect, causing damage with a central feature of pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis. However, the underlying mechanisms of pulmonary fibrosis due to SiNPs are not fully understood. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of complement anaphylatoxin C5a in SiNPs-induced pulmonary fibrosis. A mouse model of SiNPs-induced pulmonary fibrosis was established, and pulmonary fibrosis-related indicators, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), C5a/C5aR1 and high mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) proteins were measured. An in vitro study using the human lung epithelial cell line BEAS-2B investigated whether C5a leads to epithelial-to-mesenchymal trans-differentiation. In vivo studies revealed that SiNPs-induced pulmonary fibrosis mainly manifested as EMT trans-differentiation in airway epithelial cells, which subsequently led to excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM). Furthermore, we found that C5a and C5aR1 proteins were also increased in SiNPs-induced pulmonary fibrosis tissue. In vitro studies also showed that C5a directly activated HMGB1/RAGE signaling and induced EMT in BEAS-2B cells. Finally, treatment of SiNPs-exposed mice with the C5aR1 inhibitor PMX205 effectively reduced C5aR1 levels and inhibited the activation of HMGB1/RAGE signaling and the expression of EMT-related proteins, culminating in a significant alleviation of pulmonary fibrosis. Taken together, our results suggest that C5a/C5aR1 is the main signaling pathway for SiNPs-induced pulmonary fibrosis, which induces EMT in airway epithelial cells via the HMGB1/RAGE axis.

Prospects and hazards of silica nanoparticles: Biological impacts and implicated mechanisms

With the thrive of nanotechnology, silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) have been extensively adopted in the agriculture, food, cosmetic, and even biomedical industries. Due to the mass production and use, SiNPs inevitably entered the environment, resulting in ecological toxicity and even posing a threat to human health. Although considerable investigations have been conducted to assess the toxicity of SiNPs, the correlation between SiNPs exposure and consequent health risks remains ambiguous. Since the biological impacts of SiNPs can differ from their design and application, the toxicity assessment for SiNPs may be extremely difficult. This review discussed the application of SiNPs in different fields, especially their biomedical use, and documented their potential release pathways into the environment. Meanwhile, the current process of assessing SiNPs-related toxicity on various model organisms and cell lines was also detailed, thus estimating the health threats posed by SiNPs exposure. Finally, the potential toxic mechanisms of SiNPs were also elaborated based on results obtained from both in vivo and in vitro trials. This review generally summarizes the biological effects of SiNPs, which will build up a comprehensive perspective of the application and toxicity of SiNPs.

A critical review of advances in reproductive toxicity of common nanomaterials to Caenorhabditis elegans and influencing factors

In recent decades, nanotechnology has rapidly developed. Therefore, there is growing concern about the potential environmental risks of nanoparticles (NPs). Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has been used as a powerful tool for studying the potential ecotoxicological impacts of nanomaterials from the whole animal level to single cell level, especially in the area of reproduction. In this review, we discuss the reproductive toxicity of common nanomaterials in C. elegans, such as metal-based nanomaterial (silver nanoparticles (NPs), gold NPs, zinc oxide NPs, copper oxide NPs), carbon-based nanomaterial (graphene oxide, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, fullerene nanoparticles), polymeric NPs, silica NPs, quantum dots, and the potential mechanisms involved. This insights into the toxic effects of existing nanomaterials on the human reproductive system. In addition, we summarize how the physicochemical properties (e.g., size, charge, surface modification, shape) of nanomaterials influence their reproductive toxicity. Overall, using C. elegans as a platform to develop rapid detection techniques and prediction methods for nanomaterial reproductive toxicity is expected to reduce the gap between biosafety evaluation of nanomaterials and their application.

Harnessing Paenarthrobacter ureafaciens YL1 and Pseudomonas koreensis YL2 Interactions to Improve Degradation of Sulfamethoxazole

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a widespread and persistent pollutant in the environment. Although the screening and analysis of SMX-degrading bacteria have been documented, the interaction mechanisms of functional microorganisms are still poorly understood. This study constructed a consortium with strain YL1 and YL2 supplied with SMX as the sole carbon and energy source. The coexisting mechanism and the removal of SMX of the consortium were investigated. The total oxidizable carbon (TOC) removal rate of the combined bacterial system was 38.94% compared to 29.45% for the single bacterial system at the same biomass. The mixed bacterial consortium was able to resist SMX at concentrations up to 400 mg/L and maintained a stable microbial structure at different culture conditions. The optimum conditions found for SMX degradation were 30 °C, pH 7.0, a shaking speed of 160 r·min⁻¹, and an initial SMX concentration of 200 mg·L⁻¹. The degradation of SMX was accelerated by the addition of YL2 for its ability to metabolize the key intermediate, 4-aminophenol. The removal rate of 4-aminophenol by strain YL2 reached 19.54% after 5 days. Genome analysis revealed that adding riboflavin and enhancing the reducing capacity might contribute to the degradation of SMX. These results indicated that it is important for the bioremediation of antibiotic-contaminated aquatic systems to understand the metabolism of bacterial communities.

Research Advances on the Adverse Effects of Nanomaterials in a Model Organism, Caenorhabditis elegans

Along with the rapid development of nanotechnology, the biosafety assessment of nanotechnology products, including nanomaterials (NMs), has become more and more important. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a valuable model organism that has been widely used in the field of biology because of its excellent advantages, including low cost, small size, short life span, and highly conservative genomes with vertebral animals. In recent years, the number of nanotoxicological researchers using C. elegans has been growing. According to these available studies, the present review classified the adverse effects of NMs in C. elegans into systematic, cellular, and molecular toxicity, and focused on summarizing and analyzing the underlying mechanisms of metal, metal oxide, and nonmetallic NMs causing toxic effects in C. elegans. Our findings provide insights into what further studies are needed to assess the biosafety of NMs in the ecosystem using C. elegans. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:2406-2424. © 2021 SETAC.

The alterations of miRNA and mRNA expression profile and their integration analysis induced by silica nanoparticles in spermatocyte cells

Air pollution and the application of Silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) have increased the risk of human exposure to SiNPs. SiNPs are known to induce cytotoxicity in spermatocyte cells (GC-2spd cells) of mice and male reproductive system damage. However, the expression profiles of miRNA and mRNA and the molecular mechanism of miRNA-mRNA integration in reproductive toxicity induced by SiNPs in GC-2spd cells are still unclear. Therefore, GC-2spd cells were divided into 0 μg/mL and 5 μg/mL SiNPs groups, and the cells were collected and analyzed after passaging for 30 generations using miRNA microarray and Illumina high-throughput sequencing (Illumina HiSeq) for the integrated analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression. Both miRNA Microarray and Illumina Hiseq identified 15 significant differentially expressed miRNAs and 1648 significant differentially expressed mRNAs. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, and miRNA-gene-pathway-network analysis revealed 15 significant differentially expressed miRNAs that could regulate the DNA replication and the fatty acid metabolism, respectively. Furthermore, the mRNA-mRNA regulatory network analysis revealed that Pkfl (phosphofructokinase, liver, B-type) and DHCR24 (24-dehydrocholesterol reductase) were highly expressed, but also affected DNA replication and fatty acid metabolism in SiNPs-treated GC-2spd cells. Additionally, miRNA-mRNA integration analysis revealed that miRNA-138-1-3p might have a regulatory relationship with fatty acid metabolism and DNA replication. It is confirmed that SiNPs could decrease the expression of 10 miRNAs and increase the expression of 5 miRNAs. These findings suggest that the cytotoxicity of GC-2spd cells induced by SiNPs depends on the deregulation of multiple miRNAs, which regulate the DNA replication and fatty acid metabolism. Our results are the first to establish an integrated analysis of miRNA-mRNA interactions and mRNA-mRNA and defines multiple pathways involved in SiNPs-treated GC-2spd cells.