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Latest Insights on Genomic and Epigenomic Mechanisms of Nanotoxicity
For long time the diffusion of nanomaterials has been hindered by the widespread fear of side effects and toxicity. From a biological perspective nanotoxicity can occur at genomic (damage to the DNA per se) and/or epigenomic (alteration of the chemical and enzyme mediated processes that up‐ or down‐regulate gene expression) level/s, and involve various direct and indirect mechanisms. The list includes, but is not limited to: oxidative stress, inflammatory changes, alteration of DNA replication, transcription and repair, hypoxia, impairment of DNA methylation, histone modification and damage to noncoding RNAs. The topic of nanotoxicity is particularly complex because the duration and the dose of exposure may play pivotal roles in determining whether a nanomaterial can actually cause toxicity, and if so to which extent. Furthermore, while some of the mechanisms described above can trigger the activation of pro‐apoptotic pathways, others have been implicated in cancerogenesis, and animal testing demonstrated in exceptional circumstances also a potential trans‐placental transmission to offspring. As such, to guide accurate decision‐making and governance, the assessment of the toxicological profile of engineered nanomaterials should include in vitro and in vivo testing before commercialization to rule out not only short‐ and long‐term toxicity, but also possible impact on embryogenesis.
Latest Insights on Genomic and Epigenomic Mechanisms of Nanotoxicity
For long time the diffusion of nanomaterials has been hindered by the widespread fear of side effects and toxicity. From a biological perspective nanotoxicity can occur at genomic (damage to the DNA per se) and/or epigenomic (alteration of the chemical and enzyme mediated processes that up‐ or down‐regulate gene expression) level/s, and involve various direct and indirect mechanisms. The list includes, but is not limited to: oxidative stress, inflammatory changes, alteration of DNA replication, transcription and repair, hypoxia, impairment of DNA methylation, histone modification and damage to noncoding RNAs. The topic of nanotoxicity is particularly complex because the duration and the dose of exposure may play pivotal roles in determining whether a nanomaterial can actually cause toxicity, and if so to which extent. Furthermore, while some of the mechanisms described above can trigger the activation of pro‐apoptotic pathways, others have been implicated in cancerogenesis, and animal testing demonstrated in exceptional circumstances also a potential trans‐placental transmission to offspring. As such, to guide accurate decision‐making and governance, the assessment of the toxicological profile of engineered nanomaterials should include in vitro and in vivo testing before commercialization to rule out not only short‐ and long‐term toxicity, but also possible impact on embryogenesis.
Latest Insights on Genomic and Epigenomic Mechanisms of Nanotoxicity
Sahu, Saura C. (editor) / Himič, Vratko (author) / Syrmos, Nikolaos (author) / Ligarotti, Gianfranco K.I. (author) / Ganau, Mario (author)
2023-05-15
21 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English