Transcriptomic fingerprints of C. elegans exposed to superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles coated with a monolayer of bovine serum albumin (BSA-SPIONs)

Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPIONs) are currently being investigated for a range of biomedical applications. Their use have been related with different cytotoxic mechanisms including the generation of oxidative stress and the induction of metal detoxification pathways, among others. Different NP coatings are being explored, among them albumin which has been applied in some drugs delivery systems. We have investigated the molecular mechanisms responsive to in-house fabricated SPIONs coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA-SPIONs) in the nematode C. elegans to compare in vivo findings with previous in vitro studies. BSA-SPIONs (500 g/ml) affected the transcriptional response of glycan metabolic pathways related to innate immune response, xenobiotics degradation, and triggered a lysosomal response, indicating a relevant biological role of this cellular compartment in the response to this nanoparticle treatment in C. elegans. Remarkably, key biological functions such as apoptosis or protein processing were not affected with significance despite the high dose of exposure.超顺磁性氧化铁纳米颗粒（Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles，SPIONs）目前正被研究用于多种生物医学应用场景。其相关应用已与多种细胞毒性机制相关联，包括氧化应激的产生以及金属解毒通路的诱导等。研究人员正探索不同的纳米颗粒包被策略，其中牛血清白蛋白（bovine serum albumin，BSA）已被应用于部分药物递送系统。本研究针对本实验室自制的牛血清白蛋白包被超顺磁性氧化铁纳米颗粒（BSA-SPIONs），在线虫秀丽隐杆线虫（C. elegans）中探究其响应的分子机制，以期将体内实验结果与既往体外研究进行对比。浓度为500 μg/ml的BSA-SPIONs可影响与先天免疫应答、异生物质降解相关的糖代谢通路的转录应答，并触发溶酶体应答，这表明该细胞区室在秀丽隐杆线虫对该纳米颗粒处理的应答中发挥了重要的生物学作用。值得注意的是，尽管暴露剂量较高，但细胞凋亡或蛋白质加工等关键生物学功能并未受到显著影响。