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Abstract
Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) are extremely useful in a diverse range of consumer goods. However, their impact on the environment is still under research, especially regarding the mechanisms involved in their effect. Aiming to provide some insight, the present work analyzes the transcriptional activity of six genes (Hsp83, Hsp17.2, Hsp19.8, SOD Cu–Zn, Mn-SOD, and BPI) in the terrestrial snail Helix aspersa in the presence of different concentrations of Ag-NPs. The animals were exposed for seven days to Lactuca sativa soaked for one hour in different concentrations of Ag-NPs (20, 50, 100 mg/L). The results revealed that the highest concentration tested of Ag-NPs (100 mg/L) led to a statistically significant induction of the Hsp83 and BPI expression in the digestive gland compared to the control group. However, a trend to upregulation with no statistical significance was observed for all the genes in the digestive gland and the foot, while in the hemolymph, the trend was to downregulation. Ag-NPs affected the stress response and immunity under the tested conditions, although the impact was weak. It is necessary to explore longer exposure times to confirm that the effect can be maintained and impact on health. Our results highlight the usefulness of the terrestrial snail Helix aspersa as a bioindicator organism for silver nanoparticle pollution biomonitoring and, in particular, the use of molecular biomarkers of pollutant effect as candidates to be included in a multi-biomarker strategy.
Highlights
Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) are extremely useful in a diverse range of consumer goods
As happens in other organisms, the pollutants accumulated are metabolized and detoxified, being the digestive gland the primary target organ[22,25]. It has a crucial role in molluscan metabolism, showing a similar role observed in the vertebrate liver, such as the production
We identified seven sequences that code for glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), three heat shock proteins (Hsp[83], Hsp17.2, Hsp19.8), two superoxide dismutase (SOD Cu/Zn, Mn-Superoxide dismutases (SODs)), and one immune protein (BIP)
Summary
Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) are extremely useful in a diverse range of consumer goods. The last ten years have shown a linear increase in production and commercial use of nanomaterials, being used in many products such as personal care products, electronics, computers, or environmental remediation[5,10] This extensive use has caused an increasing presence in the soil as a component of fertilizers and biocides and other sources such as sewage sludge for agricultural or remediation purposes, industrial activities, or urban w aste[11,12], raising concerns about their impact on the living organisms. Of digestive enzymes, food storage, or excretion[29,30,31] It has been described as a significant site for metal a ccumulation[14,32], being a common target for biomarker measures to determine the damage caused by pollutants[14,26,29,33]. The coding genes for both enzymes have been selected for analysis since it is expected that Ag-NPs could induce oxidative stress
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