Dietary Transfer of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Induces Locomotive Defects Associated with GABAergic Motor Neuron Damage in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: The widespread use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and their release into the environment have raised concerns about the potential toxicity caused by dietary transfer. However, the toxic effects and the mechanisms of dietary transfer of ZnO-NPs have rarely been investigated. We employed the bacteria-feeding nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as the model organism to investigate the neurotoxicity induced by exposure to ZnO-NPs via trophic transfer. Our results showed that ZnO-NPs accumulated in the intestine of C. elegans and also in Escherichia coli OP50 that they ingested. Additionally, impairment of locomotive behaviors, including decreased body bending and head thrashing frequencies, were observed in C. elegans that were fed E. coli pre-treated with

SUBMITTER: How CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9866546 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature