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PIEZO mediates a protective mechanism for nematode Caenorhabditis elegans in response to nanoplastics caused dopaminergic neurotoxicity at environmentally relevant concentrations
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Researchers discovered that the PIEZO mechanosensitive ion channel plays a protective role in the nematode C. elegans when exposed to nanoplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations. When PIEZO function was suppressed, even low-level nanoplastic exposure caused significant locomotion impairment, sensory deficits, and dopaminergic neuron damage. The study suggests that PIEZO channels help regulate oxidative stress responses to nanoplastic exposure and may serve as a useful marker for assessing environmental neurotoxicity.
Studies have probed nanoplastic toxicity on environmental organisms, but the regulatory role of animal PIEZO-type mechanosensitive ion channel component (PIEZO) remains unclear. Herein, we identified the sole PIEZO in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), utilizing amino acid homology analysis and Trans-Membrane prediction using Hidden Markov Models (TMHMM). In C. elegans, RNAi knockdown of pezo-1 had no impact on lifespan, body length, lethality, locomotion behaviors, or oxidative response (P > 0.05). However, exposure to 15 μg/L nanopolystyrene in the pezo-1 RNAi group resulted in severe locomotion changes: head trashes (P < 0.01), body bends (P < 0.05), forward turns (P < 0.05), backward turns (P < 0.01), and impaired sensory perception, including abnormal chemotaxis to NaCl (P < 0.01) and diacetyl (P < 0.01), as well as aversive responses (P < 0.05) to nanopolystyrene compared to the wild-type group. Dopaminergic neuron damage explains these behaviors, with GST-4 (P < 0.01) and SKN-1/Nrf2 (P < 0.01) activation mitigating nanoplastic-induced damage. Our results emphasize that even at the environmentally relevant concentrations (ERC), nanoplastics can impact neurotoxicity-related endpoints, with PIEZO mediating the regulation of oxidative and antioxidative systems in response to these effects. PIEZO may be applied for assessing the neurotoxicity or oxidative stress induced by other environmental toxicants besides nanoplastics.
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