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Published on: June 5, 2020
MicroRNA Response and Toxicity of Potential Pathways in Human Colon Cancer Cells Exposed to Titanium Dioxide
Wen Li1,2, Ming Xi Jia1, Jing Deng1,2
1National Engineering Laboratory for Deep Process of Rice and Byproducts, College of Food Science and Engineering, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Edible forestry Resources Safety and Processing Utilization, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, Hunan, China.
Abstract:
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) are widely used for biomedical and food applications, the toxicity of TiO2-NPs in vivo and in vitro has been elucidated, but the underlying cytotoxicity of TiO2-NPs against microRNA remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to analyze microRNA profiling induced by TiO2-NPs against NCM460 and HCT116 cell lines. Comparative analysis identified 34 and 24 microRNAs were significantly altered in the TiO2-NPs treated cells at concentrations of 3 and 30 μg/mL, respectively. Functional classification demonstrated that a large proportion of genes involved in metabolism, human disease, and environmental information process were significantly upregulated by TiO2-NPs. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that microRNA 378 might be an early indicator of cellular response to exogenous stimuli with apoptotic signals. Furthermore, TiO2-NPs significantly altered the expression of microRNA 378b and 378g in HCT116 and NCM460 cell lines at different concentrations from 3 to 6 μg/mL. These concentrations elicit high-sensitivity of stimuli response in colon cancer cells when exposed to the slight doses of TiO2-NPs. Our study indicated that microRNAs 378b and 378g may play an important role in TiO2-NPs-mediated colonic cytotoxicity, which may provide a valuable insight into the molecular mechanisms of potential risks in colitis and colon cancer.
