Spurgeon, David J.; Sturzenbaum, Stephen R.. 2014.
Metalloproteins and phytochelatin synthase may confer protection against zinc oxide nanoparticle induced toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegansContact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner. suggesting that the nominal exposure to pure ZnONPs represents in vivo, at best, a mixture exposure of ionic zinc and nanoparticles. Nevertheless, the analyzes provided evidence that the metallothioneins (mtl-1 and mtl-2), the pytochelatin synthase (pcs-1) and an apoptotic marker (cep-1) were transcriptionally activated. In addition, the DCFH-DA assay provided in vitro evidence of the oxidative potential of ZnONPs in the metal exposure sensitive triple mutant.Raman spectroscopy highlighted that the biomolecular phenotype changes significantly in the metal sensitive knockout worm upon ZnONP exposure, suggesting that these metalloproteins are instrumental in the protection against cytotoxic damage. Finally, ZnONP exposure was shown to decrease growth and development, reproductive capacity and lifespan, effects which were amplified in the triple knockout. By combining diverse toxicological strategies, we identified that individuals (genotypes) housing mutations in key metalloproteins are more susceptible to ZnONP exposure, which underlines the importance of fully functional metalloproteins to minimize ZnONP induced toxicity.