Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, China.
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2019 May 15;172:388-395. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.01.055. Epub 2019 Feb 4.
The widespread use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has raised public concern due to their potential toxic effects on humans and the environment. Although some studies have evaluated the toxicity of nanomaterials in vertebrates, studies on their hazardous effects on insects are limited. Here we focused on different concentrations of AgNPs to silkworms, a promising model organism, to evaluate their toxic effects by omics analysis. After the silkworms were fed with 100 mg L AgNPs, transcriptomics analysis showed differential expression of 43 genes: 39 upregulated and 4 downregulated. These differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were involved in the digestion process, various metabolic pathways, transmembrane transport and energy synthesis. Proteomic results for silkworms fed with 400 mg L AgNPs revealed 14 significantly differentially expressed proteins: 11 downregulated and 3 upregulated. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results showed that the expression levels of eight proteins were similar to the transcription levels of their corresponding genes. As the AgNPs concentration was increased, the expression of digestive enzymes was downregulated, which damaged the silkworm tissue and suppressed the activity of the enzyme superoxide dismutase and the protein HSP 1, causing oxidative stress and the production of reactive oxygen species, which had toxic effects on the silkworm digestive system. Histopathological results showed that treatment with 400 mg L AgNPs destroyed the basal lamina and the columnar cells, caused adverse effects on tissues and had the potential to induce harmful effects on the digestive system. The data presented herein provide valuable information on the hazards and risks of nanoparticle contamination. Main finding: AgNPs would downregulate some digestive enzymes, damage the tissue of midgut in silkworm, meantime induce the accumulation of reactive oxygen species which may cause oxidative stress.
纳米银颗粒（AgNPs）的广泛应用引起了公众的关注，因为它们对人类和环境可能具有潜在的毒性作用。尽管一些研究已经评估了纳米材料对脊椎动物的毒性，但对其对昆虫的有害影响的研究有限。在这里，我们专注于不同浓度的 AgNPs 对家蚕这一有前途的模式生物的影响，通过组学分析来评估它们的毒性作用。在用 100mg/L 的 AgNPs 喂养家蚕后，转录组学分析显示有 43 个基因的表达发生了差异：39 个上调，4 个下调。这些差异表达基因（DEGs）参与了消化过程、各种代谢途径、跨膜运输和能量合成。用 400mg/L 的 AgNPs 喂养家蚕的蛋白质组学结果显示有 14 个显著差异表达的蛋白质：11 个下调，3 个上调。逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）结果表明，8 种蛋白质的表达水平与相应基因的转录水平相似。随着 AgNPs 浓度的增加，消化酶的表达被下调，这破坏了家蚕组织，抑制了超氧化物歧化酶和 HSP1 蛋白的活性，导致氧化应激和活性氧的产生，对家蚕的消化系统产生了毒性作用。组织病理学结果表明，用 400mg/L 的 AgNPs 处理会破坏基底层和柱状细胞，对组织造成不良影响，并有可能对消化系统产生有害影响。本文提供的资料对纳米颗粒污染的危害和风险提供了有价值的信息。主要发现：AgNPs 会下调一些消化酶，破坏家蚕中肠组织，同时诱导活性氧的积累，可能导致氧化应激。
