PUBLICATION

Disruption of zebrafish (Danio rerio) reproduction upon chronic exposure to TiO(2) nanoparticles

Authors
Wang, J., Zhu, X., Zhang, X., Zhao, Z., Liu, H., George, R., Wilson-Rawls, J., Chang, Y., and Chen, Y.
ID
ZDB-PUB-110119-39
Date
2011
Source
Chemosphere   83(4): 461-7 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Chen, Yongsheng
Keywords
Acute toxicity, Bioaccumulation, Chronic toxicity, Microarry, Reproduction, Zebrafish, TiO2, Nanoparticles
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Titanium/metabolism
  • Titanium/toxicity*
  • Reproduction/drug effects*
  • Zebrafish/growth & development
  • Zebrafish/metabolism
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression/drug effects
  • Metal Nanoparticles/toxicity*
  • Ovary/drug effects
  • Ovary/metabolism
  • Ovary/pathology
  • Male
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity*
PubMed
21239038 Full text @ Chemosphere
Abstract
As common engineered nanomaterials, TiO(2) nanoparticles (nTiO(2)) are usually perceived as non-toxic, and have already been widely used in many products and applications. Such a perception might have been shaped by some short-term studies that revealed no/low toxicity of nTiO(2) to cells and eco-relevant organisms. However, given the ultimate release of nTiO(2) into the aquatic environment, which can act as a sink for engineered nanoparticles, their long-term impact on the environment and human health is still a concern and deserves more research efforts. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate that chronic exposure of zebrafish to 0.1mgL(-1) nTiO(2), can significantly impair zebrafish reproduction. For instance, there was a 29.5% reduction in the cumulative number of zebrafish eggs after 13weeks of nTiO(2) exposure. Thus, we provided timely information on indicating a serious risk of reproductive impairment of environments contaminated with low levels of nTiO(2) on aquatic organisms, leading to alterations in population dynamics and aquatic ecosystem balance, and thus warrants a careful scrutiny on toxicity assessment of nTiO(2), especially their long-term impact.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping