Wang Ning, Wang Hui, Tang Chengchun, Lei Shijun, Shen Wanqing, Wang Cong, Wang Guobin, Wang Zheng, Wang Lin
Research Center for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Union Hospital.
Department of Medical Genetics, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan.
Int J Nanomedicine. 2017 Aug 18;12:5941-5957. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S130960. eCollection 2017.
Boron nitride (BN) nanomaterials have been increasingly explored for potential biological applications. However, their toxicity remains poorly understood. Using as a whole-animal model for toxicity analysis of two representative types of BN nanomaterials - BN nanospheres (BNNSs) and highly water-soluble BN nanomaterial (named BN-800-2) - we found that BNNSs overall toxicity was less than soluble BN-800-2 with irregular shapes. The concentration thresholds for BNNSs and BN-800-2 were 100 µg·mL and 10 µg·mL, respectively. Above this concentration, both delayed growth, decreased life span, reduced progeny, retarded locomotion behavior, and changed the expression of phenotype-related genes to various extents. BNNSs and BN-800-2 increased oxidative stress levels in by promoting reactive oxygen species production. Our results further showed that oxidative stress response and MAPK signaling-related genes, such as , , , , and , might be key factors for reactive oxygen species production and toxic responses to BNNSs and BN-800-2 exposure. Together, our results suggest that when concentrations are lower than 10 µg·mL, BNNSs are more biocompatible than BN-800-2 and are potentially biocompatible material.
氮化硼（BN）纳米材料已越来越多地被探索用于潜在的生物应用。然而，它们的毒性仍知之甚少。我们使用秀丽隐杆线虫作为全动物模型，对两种代表性的BN纳米材料——BN纳米球（BNNSs）和高水溶性BN纳米材料（命名为BN-800-2）进行毒性分析，发现BNNSs的总体毒性小于形状不规则的可溶性BN-800-2。BNNSs和BN-800-2的浓度阈值分别为100μg·mL和10μg·mL。高于此浓度，两者都会延迟生长、缩短寿命、减少后代、阻碍运动行为，并在不同程度上改变表型相关基因的表达。BNNSs和BN-800-2通过促进活性氧的产生增加了秀丽隐杆线虫体内的氧化应激水平。我们的结果进一步表明，氧化应激反应和与MAPK信号相关的基因（如 、 、 、 和 ）可能是活性氧产生以及对BNNSs和BN-800-2暴露产生毒性反应的关键因素。总之，我们的结果表明，当浓度低于10μg·mL时，BNNSs比BN-800-2具有更高的生物相容性并且可能是生物相容性材料。
