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

Role of chromosomal aberrations to evaluate genetic risk of exposure to carcinogens.

(in English) Air pollution is a serious worldwide problem associated with the risk of cancer. The negative effect of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (c-PAHs), including benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), on human health is analyzed using specific biomarkers. Among them biomarkers of early effect play an important role. This work summarizes the results of cytogenetic analyses performed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) (whole chromosome painting of chromosomes #1 and #4) and automated image analysis of micronuclei (MN). During the analyses a total set of 1304 samples was analyzed by the FISH method and 885 samples by the automated image analysis of MN. Studied groups including city policemen, garage men, bus drivers, administrative workers, mothers, newborns, healthy children and children with bronchial asthma and laboratory workers were from Prague, Ostrava and Ceske Budejovice. The locations significantly differed in levels of air pollutants and the type of air pollution. The exposure of participants of the study was assessed by personal and stationary monitoring. The impact of other factors including age, smoking or intake of vitamins was also evaluated in these studies. The results obtained by the FISH method in Prague showed the impact of seasonal variability of concentrations of..

Males-females differences in the spectrum of chromosomal aberrations in the group of nanocomposites production workers

An increase in the use of nanomaterials (NM) has been witnessed in many areas of human life. Therefore, assessment of genotoxicity of NM and nanoparticles (NP) is one of the main objectives of genetic toxicology. Despite this fact, human cytogenetic studies following the exposure to NP are still rare. Moreover, no relevant information on possible differences in sensitivity to NP related to gender is available.\n\nIn this study we periodically (in September 2016, 2017 and 2018; pre-shift and post-shift each year) analyzed a group of workers (both genders), working long time in nanocomposites research, and matched controls. Aerosol exposure monitoring of particulate matter including nano-sized fractions was carried out during working shift. Micronucleus assay using Human Pan Centromeric probes, was applied to distinguish, besides the frequency of total MN in binucleated cells (BNC), also other types of chromosomal damage (losses and breaks). Moreover, whole-chromosome painting (WCP) for autosome #1 and both gonosomes (X and Y) were applied in third sampling period (2018) with the aim to identify the particular structural and numerical chromosomal aberrations.\n\nObtained results showed: (i) differences in the risk of exposure to NP related to individual working processes (welding, smelting and machining); (ii) differences in chemical composition of nano-fraction; (iii) no effect of chronic exposure of NP (total MN) opposite to significant effect of acute exposure; (iv) gender-related DNA damage differences (females seem to be more sensitive to chromosomal losses). Additional data from WCP suggested increased frequency of numerical aberrations in gonosomes

GENOTOXICITY OF NANOMATERIALS IN BEAS-2B CELLS ANALYZED BY THE IN VITRO MICRONUCLEUS ASSAY

The tremendous increase of the use of nanomaterials (NMs) has been witnessed during the last decade in many areas of human life including the chemical industry, cosmetics, biomedicine or food technology. The variety of NMs, their unique properties, almost ubiquitous presence and the size range of 1-100 nm raised the interest of toxicologists. The evaluation of the frequency of micronuclei (MN) as a result of the genotoxic events is a broadly utilized and well-established approach in in vitro studies for testing the risk of chemical exposure. Nevertheless, properties of the NMs give rise to the questions concerning the optimal methodological variants of the MN assay. \n\nIn our study, five types of well-characterized NMs (TiO2: NM-101 and NM-103; SiO2: NM-200; Ag: NM-300K and NM-302) of specific size, shape, or e.g. dimensions of aggregates were involved in the genotoxicity testing using four variants of protocols differing in the time of NM exposure, application of cytochalasin-B combined with simultaneous and delayed co-treatment with nanoparticles (NPs). Bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) were used in this study to fulfil these tasks. Presence of NPs was controlled by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). \n\nObtained results showed the different genotoxic potential of the various TiO2 and Ag NMs (NM-101 NM-302, respectively). Comparison of all testing strategies revealed, that the level of DNA damage can differ based on the time of exposure and the methodological approach. In general, using cytochalasin-B led most frequently to the increase of the genotoxic potential of the tested NMs

Role of chromosomal aberrations to evaluate genetic risk of exposure to carcinogens.

(in English) Air pollution is a serious worldwide problem associated with the risk of cancer. The negative effect of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (c-PAHs), including benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), on human health is analyzed using specific biomarkers. Among them biomarkers of early effect play an important role. This work summarizes the results of cytogenetic analyses performed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) (whole chromosome painting of chromosomes #1 and #4) and automated image analysis of micronuclei (MN). During the analyses a total set of 1304 samples was analyzed by the FISH method and 885 samples by the automated image analysis of MN. Studied groups including city policemen, garage men, bus drivers, administrative workers, mothers, newborns, healthy children and children with bronchial asthma and laboratory workers were from Prague, Ostrava and Ceske Budejovice. The locations significantly differed in levels of air pollutants and the type of air pollution. The exposure of participants of the study was assessed by personal and stationary monitoring. The impact of other factors including age, smoking or intake of vitamins was also evaluated in these studies. The results obtained by the FISH method in Prague showed the impact of seasonal variability of concentrations of..