Issue 3, 2024

Gold and titania nanoparticles accumulated in the body induce late toxic effects and alterations in transcriptional and miRNA landscape

Abstract

The growing production of nanomaterials and their presence in consumer products raises fear about their impact on human health and the environment. Of particular concern are those nanomaterials that exhibit poor excretion and tend to accumulate in living organisms. Our study investigated the potential adverse biological effects of residual gold and titania nanoparticles (PEG-AuNPs and TiO2NPs) 28 days after a single intravenous administration in rats. To comprehensively assess the potential health hazard of these metal nanoparticles (MNP), toxicological and transcriptomic analyses were employed. The liver was the primary organ of the MNP deposition, causing a reduction in the relative liver weight compared to unexposed animals. Concurrently, changes in serum biomarkers indicative of hepatic dysfunction and hematological and immunological alternations were determined. Integrated transcriptomic analysis unveiled exposure-induced effects on the rats' lungs, liver, and kidneys. The hepatic tissue, particularly in PEG-AuNPs-exposed rats, exhibited a noteworthy prevalence of deregulated genes, with functional classification spanning lipid metabolism, cell cycle, and cell proliferation pathways. Although the number of deregulated miRNAs was relatively modest compared to mRNA expression changes, both types of MNPs deregulated miR-203a, associated with liver injury, and miR-18a-5p and miR-32-5p linked to kidney damage. This study underscores the imperative for a more exhaustive biosafety assessment of poorly soluble MNPs that tend to deposit in the body. Such investigations are crucial for delineating the potential risks of these nanomaterials and guiding the development of adequate safety measures in their production and usage.

Graphical abstract: Gold and titania nanoparticles accumulated in the body induce late toxic effects and alterations in transcriptional and miRNA landscape

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 déc. 2023
Accepted
18 janv. 2024
First published
12 févr. 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024,11, 1296-1313

Gold and titania nanoparticles accumulated in the body induce late toxic effects and alterations in transcriptional and miRNA landscape

A. Soltysova, N. Ludwig, C. Diener, M. Sramkova, K. Kozics, K. Jakic, L. Balintova, N. G. Bastus, O. H. Moriones, A. Liskova, Z. Krivosikova, E. Rollerova, A. Manova, T. Dubaj, V. Puntes, P. Simon, L. Wsolova, J. Tulinska, B. Smolkova, E. Meese and A. Gabelova, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024, 11, 1296 DOI: 10.1039/D3EN00954H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements