Faculty of Environmental Engineering, College of Urban Science, University of Seoul, 90 Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-743, Republic of Korea.
Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2010 Mar;29(2):167-72. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2009.12.003. Epub 2010 Jan 6.
In this study, the potential harmful effect of cerium dioxide (CeO(2)), and titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) nanoparticles on the environment was investigated using Caenorhabditis elegans ecotoxicity tests. Multiple toxic endpoints, such as stress-response gene expression, growth, fertility, and survival, were analyzed in C. elegans, in response to the CeO(2) and TiO(2) exposure. To investigate relationship between sizes of nanoparticles and toxicity, C. elegans were exposed to nanoparticles to the different sizes of nanoparticles (15, 45nm for CeO(2) and 7, 20nm for TiO(2)). An increase in the expression of the cyp35a2 gene, decrease in fertility and survival parameters were observed in the 15 and 45nm of CeO(2) and in the 7nm of TiO(2) nanoparticles exposed to C. elegans. Gene knock-down experiment using RNA interference (RNAi) suggested that physiological level disturbances may be related with the cyp35a2 gene expression. Smaller sized nanoparticles (7nm of TiO(2) and 15nm of CeO(2)) seemed to be more toxic than larger sized ones (20nm of TiO(2) and 45nm of CeO(2)) on the observed toxicity. The size-dependent effect in CeO(2) and TiO(2) nanoparticles-induced toxicity needs to be investigated under more detailed experimental settings with the various sizes of nanoparticles. Further studies on the mechanism by which CeO(2) and TiO(2) nanoparticles affect cyp35a2 gene expression, fertility, and survival are warranted to better understand the CeO(2) and TiO(2) nanoparticles-induced ecotoxicity in C. elegans, as are studies with the causal relationships between these parameters. Overall results suggest that CeO(2) and TiO(2) nanoparticles have a potential for provoking ecotoxicity on C. elegans and the data obtained from this study can comprise a contribution to knowledge of the ecotoxicology of nanoparticles in C. elegans, about which little data are available.
在这项研究中，使用秀丽隐杆线虫生态毒性试验研究了二氧化铈（CeO(2)）和二氧化钛（TiO(2)）纳米粒子对环境的潜在有害影响。分析了秀丽隐杆线虫的多个毒性终点，如应激反应基因表达、生长、繁殖和生存，以响应 CeO(2)和 TiO(2)暴露。为了研究纳米粒子的大小与毒性之间的关系，将不同大小的纳米粒子（CeO(2)的 15nm 和 45nm，TiO(2)的 7nm 和 20nm）暴露于秀丽隐杆线虫。结果发现，15nm 和 45nm 的 CeO(2)以及 7nm 的 TiO(2)纳米粒子暴露于秀丽隐杆线虫时，cyp35a2 基因表达增加，繁殖和生存参数下降。通过 RNA 干扰（RNAi）基因敲低实验表明，生理水平的干扰可能与 cyp35a2 基因表达有关。较小尺寸的纳米粒子（7nm 的 TiO(2)和 15nm 的 CeO(2)）似乎比较大尺寸的纳米粒子（20nm 的 TiO(2)和 45nm 的 CeO(2)）更具毒性。需要在更详细的实验条件下，用不同尺寸的纳米粒子进一步研究 CeO(2)和 TiO(2)纳米粒子诱导毒性的尺寸依赖性效应。进一步研究 CeO(2)和 TiO(2)纳米粒子影响 cyp35a2 基因表达、繁殖和生存的机制，以更好地了解 CeO(2)和 TiO(2)纳米粒子对秀丽隐杆线虫的生态毒性，以及这些参数之间因果关系的研究，都是必要的。总体结果表明，CeO(2)和 TiO(2)纳米粒子有可能对秀丽隐杆线虫产生生态毒性，本研究获得的数据可以为秀丽隐杆线虫纳米粒子生态毒理学知识做出贡献，目前关于这方面的数据很少。
