Damage effects induced by electrically generated negative air ions in Caenorhabditis elegans

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Toxicology
• Model Organisms

Background:

• Electrically generated negative air ions (ENIs) are used for indoor air quality improvement, but their biological effects are inconsistently reported.
• Variances in experimental systems, endpoints, and exposure methods contribute to inconsistent findings regarding ENIs' effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the in vivo biological effects of continuous ENIs exposure using Caenorhabditis elegans.
• To investigate the mechanisms underlying potential damage induced by ENIs exposure, focusing on reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Main Methods:

• Exposure of C. elegans to ENIs (10^5 ions/cm^3) and assessment of developmental period, lifespan, brood size, and germline apoptosis.
• Utilized ROS-sensitive (mev-1(kn1)) and transgenic (sod-3::gfp) C. elegans strains to study damage mechanisms.
• Administered ROS scavengers (DMSO, l-ascorbic acid) to evaluate their protective effects.

Main Results:

• Continuous ENIs exposure decreased development period, shortened lifespan, increased germline apoptosis, and reduced brood size in C. elegans.
• The lifespan of mev-1(kn1) mutants was significantly shortened by ENIs exposure compared to wild-type worms.
• ENIs exposure increased SOD-3 levels in a time-dependent manner, and ROS scavengers mitigated apoptosis and SOD-3 upregulation.

Conclusions:

• Persistent ENIs exposure may induce cellular damage in C. elegans.
• Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are implicated in the damaging effects of ENIs exposure.
• C. elegans serves as a valuable in vivo model for studying the biological impacts of air ions.