Faculty Collaboration Database

Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Impact Several Toxicological Endpoints and Cause Neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS One 2016;11(12):e0167613

Date

12/03/2016

Pubmed ID

27911941

Pubmed Central ID

PMC5135131

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0167613

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85002249004 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   67 Citations

Abstract

Engineered nanoparticles are becoming increasingly incorporated into technology and consumer products. In 2014, over 300 tons of copper oxide nanoparticles were manufactured in the United States. The increased production of nanoparticles raises concerns regarding the potential introduction into the environment or human exposure. Copper oxide nanoparticles commonly release copper ions into solutions, which contribute to their toxicity. We quantified the inhibitory effects of both copper oxide nanoparticles and copper sulfate on C. elegans toxicological endpoints to elucidate their biological effects. Several toxicological endpoints were analyzed in C. elegans, including nematode reproduction, feeding behavior, and average body length. We examined three wild C. elegans isolates together with the Bristol N2 laboratory strain to explore the influence of different genotypic backgrounds on the physiological response to copper challenge. All strains exhibited greater sensitivity to copper oxide nanoparticles compared to copper sulfate, as indicated by reduction of average body length and feeding behavior. Reproduction was significantly reduced only at the highest copper dose, though still more pronounced with copper oxide nanoparticles compared to copper sulfate treatment. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of copper oxide nanoparticles and copper sulfate on neurons, cells with known vulnerability to heavy metal toxicity. Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons was observed in up to 10% of the population after copper oxide nanoparticle exposure. Additionally, mutants in the divalent-metal transporters, smf-1 or smf-2, showed increased tolerance to copper exposure, implicating both transporters in copper-induced neurodegeneration. These results highlight the complex nature of CuO nanoparticle toxicity, in which a nanoparticle-specific effect was observed in some traits (average body length, feeding behavior) and a copper ion specific effect was observed for other traits (neurodegeneration, response to stress).

Author List

Mashock MJ, Zanon T, Kappell AD, Petrella LN, Andersen EC, Hristova KR

Author

Lisa Petrella PhD Assistant Professor in the Biological Sciences department at Marquette University

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
Body Size
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
Cation Transport Proteins
Copper
Dopaminergic Neurons
Feeding Behavior
Humans
Mutation
Nanoparticles
Neurodegenerative Diseases