Characterization of graphene immune-impacts through omics approaches and genotoxic analysis

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Björn Schumacher
• Subject Area: Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics ; Experimental Condensed Matter Physics ; Cell Biology
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 279055639

• Final Report Year: 2019

Final Report Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) holds high promise for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in nanomedicine but reportedly displays immunotoxicity, underlining the need for developing functionalized GO with improved biocompatibility. This project provides a description of the adverse effects of GO and amino-functionalized GO (GONH2) during Caenorhabditis elegans development and ageing upon acute or chronic exposure. Chronic GO treatment throughout the C. elegans development causes decreased fecundity and a reduction of animal size, while acute treatment does not lead to any measurable physiological decline. However, RNA-Seq data revealed that acute GO exposure induces innate immune gene expression. The p38 MAP kinase, PMK-1, which is a well-established master regulator of innate immunity, protects C. elegans from chronic GO toxicity, as pmk-1 mutants show reduced tissue-functionality and facultative vivipary. In a direct comparison, GONH2 exposure does not cause detrimental effects in the wild type or in pmk-1 mutants, and the innate immune response is considerably less pronounced. The results of this project establish the enhanced biocompatibility of amino-functionalized GO in a whole-organism, emphasizing its potential as biomedical nanomaterial.

Publications

• (2019) Improved Biocompatibility of Amino-Functionalized Graphene Oxide in Caenorhabditis elegans. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) 15 (45) e1902699
  Rive, Corvin; Reina, Giacomo; Wagle, Prerana; Treossi, Emanuele; Palermo, Vincenzo; Bianco, Alberto; Delogu, Lucia Gemma; Rieckher, Matthias; Schumacher, Björn
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201902699)
• DNA Damage Response and Immune Defence: Links and Mechanisms. Front. Genet. 2016 Aug 9;7:147
  Nakad R, Schumacher B
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2016.00147)
• A simple answer to complex questions: Caenorhabditis elegansas an experimental model for examining the DNA damage response and disease genes. J. Cell. Physiol. 233, 2781–2790 (2017)
  Rieckher, M., Bujarrabal, A., Doll, M. A., Soltanmohammadi, N. & Schumacher, B.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.25979)