Assessment of iron oxide nanoparticle ecotoxicity on regeneration and homeostasis in the replacement model system Schmidtea mediterranea

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) are used in a number of applications, from food to cosmetics, from medical applications to magnetic storage. In spite of the 550 tons produced each year in Europe alone, no effective dose limit recommendations are established and the overall risks connected to IONs ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	ALTEX, alternatives to animal experimentation Vol. 36; no. 4; p. 583
Main Authors:	Tran, Thao A, Hesler, Michelle, Moriones, Oscar H, Jimeno-Romero, Alba, Fischer, Benjamin, Bastús, Neus G, Puntes, Victor, Wagner, Sylvia, Kohl, Yvonne L, Gentile, Luca
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Germany Springer Spektrum 01-01-2019
Subjects:	Analysis Animals Bromine compounds Dynamic Light Scattering Ferric Compounds - chemistry Ferric Compounds - toxicity Ferric oxide Fishes Fresh Water Gene Expression - drug effects Health Homeostasis Homeostasis - drug effects Inorganic color pigments Iron compounds Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry Metal Nanoparticles - toxicity Microscopy, Electron, Transmission Nanoparticles Photoelectron Spectroscopy Planarians - cytology Planarians - drug effects Planarians - physiology Polystyrene Population biology Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Regeneration - drug effects Stem cell research Stem cells Water Pollution X-Ray Diffraction Germany Spain pluripotency-based regeneration Schmidtea mediterranea freshwater ecotoxicity 3R strategy reactive oxygen species
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Summary:	Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) are used in a number of applications, from food to cosmetics, from medical applications to magnetic storage. In spite of the 550 tons produced each year in Europe alone, no effective dose limit recommendations are established and the overall risks connected to IONs are still debated. The incorporation of IONs in daily life raises a concern about their effects on the environment, on living organisms, and on human health. In this study, we used freshwater planarians to assess the nanoecotoxicity of IONs. Planarians are free-living invertebrates known for their astonishing regenerative ability. Because of their sensitivity to toxicants, they are often used to determine the effects of toxic, genotoxic and carcinogenic environmental compounds with an approach in line with the 3Rs (Reduce, Refine, Replace) principle. Planarians were exposed to IONs at concentrations up to 1 mg/mL and their effects were evaluated at the behavioral, morphofunctional and molecular levels, with a special emphasis on the regeneration process. Our results indicate that IONs did not affect the stem cell population dynamics, nor did they induce substantial changes in either homeostatic or regenerating planarians. As positive controls, gold nanoparticles coated with the pro-apoptotic anti-cancer drug hexadecylmethylammonium bromide, silver nanoparticles and highly concentrated polystyrene nanoparticles were used. These all elicited toxic effects. Therefore, we conclude that IONs at environmental concentrations are safe for planarians, and that the planarian is a powerful model system that can replace vertebrate animal models in nanoecotoxicology research and for nanoecotoxicology studies.
ISSN:	1868-596X 1868-596X
DOI:	10.14573/altex.1902061