Grupo de Biología y Toxicología Ambiental, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), C/ Senda del Rey 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Laboratorio de Síntesis Orgánica e Imagen Molecular por Resonancia Magnética, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), C/ Senda del Rey 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Aquat Toxicol. 2019 Apr;209:42-48. doi: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2019.01.017. Epub 2019 Jan 21.
Nowadays, due to the physical, chemical, electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT), its have been currently incorporated into biomedical products and they are employed in drug delivery drug administration, biosensor design, microbial treatments, consumer products, and new products containing CNT are expected in the future. CNT are hydrophobic and have a tendency to accumulate in sediments if they are released into aquatic ecosystems. Vertebrate studies have revealed concerns about the toxicity of carbon nanotubes, but there is very limited data on the toxic effects in aquatic invertebrate species. The aim of the present study is to determine the effects of MWCNT in Chironomus riparius at the molecular level, understanding its mode of action and analyzing the suitability of this species to monitor and assess risk of nanomaterials in aquatic ecosystems. To evaluate possible toxic effects caused by carbon nanotube environmental dispersion with regard to aquatic compartment, we study the mRNA levels of several related genes with DNA repairing mechanisms, cell stress response, cell apoptosis and cytoskeleton by Real-Time PCR and proposed a freshwater invertebrate C. riparius, which is a reference organism in aquatic toxicology. The obtained results show a transcriptional alteration of some genes included in this study, indicating that different cell processes are affected and providing one the first evidences in the mechanisms of action of MWCNT in invertebrates. Moreover, this data reinforces the need for further studies to assess the environmental risk of nanomaterial to prevent future damage to aquatic ecosystems.
如今，由于碳纳米管 (CNT) 的物理、化学、电气、热和机械性能，它已经被纳入生物医学产品中，并用于药物输送、药物管理、生物传感器设计、微生物处理、消费品，预计未来还会有含有 CNT 的新产品。如果碳纳米管被释放到水生生态系统中，它们会具有疏水性，并倾向于在沉积物中积累。脊椎动物研究表明人们对碳纳米管的毒性表示担忧，但关于水生无脊椎动物物种的毒性影响的数据非常有限。本研究的目的是确定 MWCNT 在摇蚊幼虫体内的分子水平上的影响，了解其作用模式，并分析该物种监测和评估水生生态系统中纳米材料风险的适宜性。为了评估与水生环境有关的碳纳米管环境分散可能造成的毒性影响，我们通过实时 PCR 研究了几种与 DNA 修复机制、细胞应激反应、细胞凋亡和细胞骨架相关的相关基因的 mRNA 水平，并提出了一种淡水无脊椎动物 C. riparius，作为水生毒理学的参考生物。获得的结果表明，该研究中包含的一些基因的转录发生了改变，表明不同的细胞过程受到了影响，并为 MWCNT 在无脊椎动物中的作用机制提供了第一个证据。此外，这些数据强化了需要进一步研究来评估纳米材料对环境的风险，以防止对水生生态系统造成未来的损害。
