Genotoxic and oxidative stress potential of nanosized and bulk zinc oxide particles in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONP) are manufactured on a large scale and can be found in a variety of consumer products, such as sunscreens, lotions, paints and food additives. Few studies have been carried out on its genotoxic potential and related mechanisms in whole organisms. In the present study, the in vivo genotoxic activity of ZnONP and its bulk form was assayed using the wing-spot test and comet assay in Drosophila melanogaster Additionally, a lipid peroxidation analysis using the thiobarbituric acid assay was also performed. Results obtained with the wing-spot test showed a lack of genotoxic activity of both ZnO forms. However, when both particle sizes were tested in the comet assay using larvae haemocytes, a significant increase in DNA damage was observed for ZnONP treatments but only at the higher dose applied. In addition, the lipid peroxidation assay showed significant malondialdehyde (MDA) induction for both ZnO forms, but the induction of MDA for ZnONP was higher for the ZnO bulk, suggesting that the observed DNA strand breaks could be induced by mediated oxidative stress. The overall data suggest that the potential genotoxicity of ZnONP in Drosophila can be considered weak according to the lack of mutagenic and recombinogenic effects and the induction of primary DNA damage only at high toxic doses of ZnONP. This study is the first assessing the genotoxic and oxidative stress potential of nano and bulk ZnO particles in Drosophila.

A combined proteomic and targeted analysis unravels new toxic mechanisms for zinc oxide nanoparticles in macrophages

“…(For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) documented in vitro [7][8][9][10][11]28,80], but also in vivo [12,13], although other studies do not reach the same conclusion (e.g. [14]), and our results may shed new light in this area.…”

“…There has been quite active research to determine the toxic mechanisms of these nanoparticles, and many papers imply the oxidative stress pathway, [6,7], leading to DNA damage and genotoxicity in vitro [8][9][10][11] but also in vivo [12,13], although this is still a controversial issue [14].…”

Green Synthesized Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Nanoparticles Induce Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage in Lathyrus sativus L. Root Bioassay System

“…The ZnONPs have been reported to induce cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and/or DNA damage in the root meristem cells of Allium cepa [47]; DNA damage in the epidermal cell line (A431) [48] and human neuroblastoma SHSY5Y cell line [49]; and somatic mutation and DNA damage in Drosophila melanogaster [50]. Also, Zn 2+ has been shown to cause significant DNA damage in Nicotiana tabacum in the root but not leaf cells, attributed to efficient H 2 O 2 scavenging by the enhanced antioxidative enzymes activity in leaf cells [51].…”

Cytotoxic effects of ZnO nanoparticles on mouse testicular cells

“…In line with our results, several studies have shown that ZnO NPs or other types of NPs induce DNA damage in a variety of cell types. [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60] In vivo exposure to ZnO NPs alters the structure of seminiferous tubules and spermatozoa morphologies…”