Department of Food Safety/Hygiene and Risk Management, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.
Department of Cosmeceutics, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Mar 3;22(5):2536. doi: 10.3390/ijms22052536.
Silver nanoparticles pose a potential risk to ecosystems and living organisms due to their widespread use in various fields and subsequent gradual release into the environment. Only a few studies have investigated the effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) toxicity on immunological functions. Furthermore, these toxic effects have not been fully explored. Recent studies have indicated that zebrafish are considered a good alternative model for testing toxicity and for evaluating immunological toxicity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the toxicity effects of AgNPs on innate immunity using a zebrafish model and to investigate whether the natural compound pterostilbene (PTE) could provide protection against AgNPs-induced immunotoxicity. Wild type and neutrophil- and macrophage-transgenic zebrafish lines were used in the experiments. The results indicated that the exposure to AgNPs induced toxic effects including death, malformation and the innate immune toxicity of zebrafish. In addition, AgNPs affect the number and function of neutrophils and macrophages. The expression of immune-related cytokines and chemokines was also affected. Notably, the addition of PTE could activate immune cells and promote their accumulation in injured areas in zebrafish, thereby reducing the damage caused by AgNPs. In conclusion, AgNPs may induce innate immune toxicity and PTE could ameliorate this toxicity.
银纳米粒子由于其在各个领域的广泛应用以及随后逐渐释放到环境中，对生态系统和生物体构成了潜在的风险。只有少数研究调查了银纳米粒子（AgNPs）毒性对免疫功能的影响。此外，这些毒性作用尚未得到充分探索。最近的研究表明，斑马鱼被认为是测试毒性和评估免疫毒性的良好替代模型。因此，本研究旨在使用斑马鱼模型研究 AgNPs 对先天免疫的毒性作用，并探讨天然化合物白藜芦醇（PTE）是否可以提供针对 AgNPs 诱导的免疫毒性的保护作用。实验中使用了野生型和嗜中性粒细胞和巨噬细胞转基因斑马鱼品系。结果表明，AgNPs 的暴露会引起毒性作用，包括斑马鱼的死亡、畸形和先天免疫毒性。此外，AgNPs 还会影响中性粒细胞和巨噬细胞的数量和功能，同时还会影响免疫相关细胞因子和趋化因子的表达。值得注意的是，添加 PTE 可以激活免疫细胞，并促进其在受伤区域的积累，从而减轻 AgNPs 造成的损伤。总之，AgNPs 可能会引起先天免疫毒性，而 PTE 可以减轻这种毒性。
