Inhalation of ZnO nanoparticles: Splice junction expression and alternative splicing in mice

Despite the wide application of nanomaterials, toxicity studies of nanoparticles (NP) are often limited to in vitro cell models, and the biological impact of NP exposure in mammals has not been thoroughly investigated. Zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs are commonly used in various consumer products. To evaluate the effects of the inhalation of ZnO NP in mice, we studied splice junction expression in the lungs as a proxy to gene expression changes analysis. Female ICR mice were treated with 6.46 x 10(4) and 1.93 x 10(6) NP/cm(3) for 3 days and 3 months, respectively. An analysis of differential expression and alternative splicing events in 298 targets (splice junctions) of 68 genes involved in the processes relevant to the biological effects of ZnO NP was conducted using next-generation sequencing. Three days of exposure resulted in the upregulation of IL-6 and downregulation of BID, GSR, NF-kB2, PTGS2, SLC11A2, and TXNRD1 splice junction expression; 3 months of exposure increased the expression of splice junctions in ALDH3A1, APAF1, BID, CASP3, DHCR7, GCLC, GCLM, GSR, GSS, EHHADH, FAS, HMOX-1, IFN, NF-kB1, NQO-1, PTGS1, PTGS2, RAD51, RIPK2, SRXN1, TRAF6, and TXNRD1. Alternative splicing of TRAF6 and TXNRD1 was induced after 3 days of exposure to 1.93 x 10(6) NP/cm(3). In summary, we observed changes of splice junction expression in genes involved in oxidative stress, apoptosis, immune response, inflammation, and DNA repair, as well as the induction of alternative splicing in genes associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. Our data indicate the potential negative biological effects of ZnO NP inhalation.Web of Science168120019

GENE EXPRESSION AND IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSE IN MICE EXPOSED TO ZnO NANOPARTICLES

We analyzed gene expression changes in the lungs and the immunological response in splenocytes of mice exposed by inhalation of ZnO nanoparticles - NP. Adult female ICR mice were treated for three days and three months, respectively. Analysis of differential expression in genes involved in oxidative stress was conducted using quantitative RT-PCR. The potential immunotoxic and immunomodulatory effects of ZnO NP were analyzed by phenotyping and cytokine production by splenocytes after three months exposure. Three days exposure resulted in down-regulation of GCLC, GSR, HMOX-1, NQO-1, NF-kB2, PTGS2 and TXNRD1 mRNA expression, three months exposure increased the expression of these genes. Three months exposure caused a significant decrease in the percentage of granulocytes in the spleen cells, and affected the production of IL-10 and IL-6 by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated leukocytes. In summary, our study revealed changes in the expression of genes involved in the oxidative stress response following acute ZnO NP exposure. Subchronic ZnO NP exposure induced immunomodulatory effects in the spleen

Optimization of culture conditions of human HepG2 liver cells on 4 types of nano- and micro-fiber carriers

The technology describes the optimization of the number of deployed human hepatocytes HepG2, suitable for use in the field of toxicological verification of new drugs or foods, on a 3D culture system consisting of four types of nano- and microfiber carriers. The motivation for finding suitable models for testing potentially genotoxic effects of drugs is the low relevance of tissue models used in the first stages of preclinical evaluation of new substances, as well as the reduction of animal testing

Modified method for evaluation of micronuclei in lymphocytes using hybridization of pancentrometric fluorescently labelled probes

This methodology is based on the simultaneous fluorescent staining of both whole chromosomes and their centromere using pancentrometric probes. Thanks to this, it is possible to evaluate the frequencies of micronuclei with / without centromeres, ie to determine the differences between structural and numerical aberrations. The aim of the methodology was to create an innovative procedure for evaluating the genotoxic effects of nanoparticles, chemicals, including drugs or radiation on the DNA of living organisms