title: Toxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles in immune cells of the sea urchin.
abstract: The potential toxicity of stannum dioxide (SnO₂), cerium dioxide (CeO₂) and iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles (NPs) in the marine environment was investigated using the sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus, as an in vivo model. We found that 5 days after force-feeding of NPs in aqueous solutions, the three NPs presented different toxicity degrees, depending on the considered biomarkers. We examined: 1) the presence of the NPs in the coelomic fluid and the uptake into the immune cells (coelomocytes); 2) the cholinesterase activity and the expression of the stress-related proteins HSC70 and GRP78; 3) the morphological changes affecting cellular compartments, such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and lysosomes. By Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) analysis, coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) we found that NPs were uptaken inside coelomocytes. The cholinesterases activity, a well known marker of blood intoxication in vertebrates, was greatly reduced in specimens exposed to NPs. We found that levels of stress proteins were down-regulated, matching the observed ER and lysosomes morphological alterations. In conclusion, this is the first study which utilizes the sea urchin as a model organism for biomonitoring the biological impact of NPs and supports the efficacy of the selected biomarkers.
authors: Dipartimento per lo Studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse, Università di Genova, Italy. falugi@unige.it
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Falugi
authors: M G
authors: MG
authors: Aluigi
authors: M C
authors: MC
authors: Chiantore
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Privitera
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Ramoino
authors: M A
authors: MA
authors: Gatti
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Fabrizi
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Pinsino
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Matranga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002802:Cholinesterases / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity*; D010087:Oxides / Q000633:toxicity*; D047328:Paracentrotus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010087:Oxides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002802:Cholinesterases