title: Comparative cytotoxicity induced by bulk and nanoparticulated ZnO in the fish and human hepatoma cell lines PLHC-1 and Hep G2.
abstract: The increasing presence of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) in consumer products may be having a dramatic impact in aquatic environments. The evaluation of ZnO NP toxicity represents a great challenge. This study aimed at evaluating the cytotoxic effect of micro- and nanosized ZnO in a fish and a mammalian hepatoma cell line. A detailed characterisation of the particles in exposure media showed that ZnO NPs formed large aggregates. ZnO cytotoxicity was evaluated with a battery of in vitro assays including LUCS, a new approach based on DNA alteration measurements. In fish cells, ZnO NP aggregates contributed substantially to the cytotoxic effects whereas toxicity in the human cells appeared to be mainly produced by the dissolved fraction. ROS production did not contribute to the observed cytotoxicity. This work also showed that measuring concentrations of NPs is essential to understand the mechanisms underlying their toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Departamento de Medio Ambiente, Carretera de la Coruña Km 7 Madrid, Spain. fcruz@inia.es
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Fernández-Cruz
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lammel
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Connolly
authors.forename: Estefania
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Conde
authors.forename: Ana Isabel
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Barrado
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Derick
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Furger
authors.forename: Jose Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Navas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D008027:Light; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*; D009499:Neutral Red / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010316:Particle Size; D011036:Poecilia; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D009499:Neutral Red; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D015034:Zinc Oxide