The Effects of In Vivo Exposure to Copper Oxide Nanoparticles on the Gut Microbiome, Host Immunity, and Susceptibility to a Bacterial Infection in Earthworms

Swart, Elmer; Dvorak, Jiri; Hernádi, Szabolcs; Goodall, Tim; Kille, Peter; Spurgeon, David; Svendsen, Claus; Prochazkova, Petra

doi:10.3390/nano10071337

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The Effects of In Vivo Exposure to Copper Oxide Nanoparticles on the Gut Microbiome, Host Immunity, and Susceptibility to a Bacterial Infection in Earthworms

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UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK

Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic

School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK

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Nanomaterials 2020, 10(7), 1337; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10071337

Received: 9 June 2020 / Revised: 3 July 2020 / Accepted: 6 July 2020 / Published: 9 July 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue An Evolutionary and Environmental Perspective of the Interaction of Nanomaterials with the Immune System-The Outcomes of the EU Project PANDORA)

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Abstract

Nanomaterials (NMs) can interact with the innate immunity of organisms. It remains, however, unclear whether these interactions can compromise the immune functioning of the host when faced with a disease threat. Co-exposure with pathogens is thus a powerful approach to assess the immuno-safety of NMs. In this paper, we studied the impacts of in vivo exposure to a biocidal NM on the gut microbiome, host immune responses, and susceptibility of the host to a bacterial challenge in an earthworm. Eisenia fetida were exposed to CuO-nanoparticles in soil for 28 days, after which the earthworms were challenged with the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Immune responses were monitored by measuring mRNA levels of known earthworm immune genes. Effects of treatments on the gut microbiome were also assessed to link microbiome changes to immune responses. Treatments caused a shift in the earthworm gut microbiome. Despite these effects, no impacts of treatment on the expression of earthworm immune markers were recorded. The methodological approach applied in this paper provides a useful framework for improved assessment of immuno-safety of NMs. In addition, we highlight the need to investigate time as a factor in earthworm immune responses to NM exposure. View Full-Text

Keywords: innate immunity; infection; microbiome; survival; nanomaterials; nanoparticles; copper; earthworms; Eisenia fetida

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Swart, E.; Dvorak, J.; Hernádi, S.; Goodall, T.; Kille, P.; Spurgeon, D.; Svendsen, C.; Prochazkova, P. The Effects of In Vivo Exposure to Copper Oxide Nanoparticles on the Gut Microbiome, Host Immunity, and Susceptibility to a Bacterial Infection in Earthworms. Nanomaterials 2020, 10, 1337. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10071337

AMA Style

Swart E, Dvorak J, Hernádi S, Goodall T, Kille P, Spurgeon D, Svendsen C, Prochazkova P. The Effects of In Vivo Exposure to Copper Oxide Nanoparticles on the Gut Microbiome, Host Immunity, and Susceptibility to a Bacterial Infection in Earthworms. Nanomaterials. 2020; 10(7):1337. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10071337

Chicago/Turabian Style

Swart, Elmer, Jiri Dvorak, Szabolcs Hernádi, Tim Goodall, Peter Kille, David Spurgeon, Claus Svendsen, and Petra Prochazkova. 2020. "The Effects of In Vivo Exposure to Copper Oxide Nanoparticles on the Gut Microbiome, Host Immunity, and Susceptibility to a Bacterial Infection in Earthworms" Nanomaterials 10, no. 7: 1337. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10071337

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