RNA-Seq of human bronchial cells (BEAS-2B) treated with 4-40 µg/mL Cu by CuO NP and ionic Cu, and human hepatoblastoma cells (HepG2) treated with 4-40 µg/mL ionic Cu compared to untreated controls
Cu is an essential trace element for the human body, and moreover, increasingly used in industry and clinical applications due to many favorable characteristics of this transition metal. In this context, it has been shown that CuO NP are more toxic than, e.g., CuO MP or ionic copper. Nevertheless, detailed mechanistic studies comparing cellular effects in different organ-relevant models are scarce. For example, transcriptomic profiling of cells exposed to CuO NPs has been conducted only in murine lung cells. Hence, we exposed BEAS-2B (lung) cells to subcytotoxic concentrations of both CuO NP and ionic copper in the form of CuCl2 for 24 h, and HepG2 (liver) cells to subcytotoxic concentrations of ionic Cu for 24 h. The aim was to compare both the relevance of the type of copper compound used and the differences between different cell lines exposed to copper. Briefly, cells were cultivated under submerged conditions for 24 h and exposed to the respective copper compounds for 24 h. Afterwards, cell pellets were obtained, and samples were transcribed into RNA.  Samples were then sent to NovoGene Munich to perform RNA-sequencing. Changes in gene expression of cells treated with copper were then analyzed in comparison to untreated controls.
Cu is an essential trace element for the human body, and moreover, increasingly used in industry and clinical applications due to many favorable characteristics of this transition metal. In this context, it has been shown that CuO NP are more toxic than, e.g., CuO MP or ionic copper. Nevertheless, detailed mechanistic studies comparing cellular effects in different organ-relevant models are scarce. For example, transcriptomic profiling of cells exposed to CuO NPs has been conducted only in murine lung cells. Hence, we exposed BEAS-2B (lung) cells to subcytotoxic concentrations of both CuO NP and ionic copper in the form of CuCl2 for 24 h, and HepG2 (liver) cells to subcytotoxic concentrations of ionic Cu for 24 h. The aim was to compare both the relevance of the type of copper compound used and the differences between different cell lines exposed to copper. Briefly, cells were cultivated under submerged conditions for 24 h and exposed to the respective copper compounds for 24 h. Afterwards, cell pellets were obtained, and samples were transcribed into RNA.  Samples were then sent to NovoGene Munich to perform RNA-sequencing. Changes in gene expression of cells treated with copper were then analyzed in comparison to untreated controls.
European Bioinformatics Institute