Effects of a cationic PAMAM dendrimer on photosynthesis and ROS production of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Abstract Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers hold great promises for biomedicine. This study sought to examine the toxicity of generation 4 (G4) cationic PAMAM dendrimer to the green microalga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, using physiological and molecular biomarkers. Results revealed that the G4 dend...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNanotoxicology Vol. 6; no. 3; pp. 315 - 326
Main Authors Petit, Anne-Noëlle, Debenest, Timothée, Eullaffroy, Philippe, Gagné, François
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Informa UK, Ltd 01.05.2012
Taylor & Francis
Subjects
Algae
Catalase - genetics
Catalase - metabolism
Cations
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - drug effects
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - enzymology
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - genetics
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - metabolism
Dendrimers - toxicity
Flow Cytometry
gene expression
Genes, Plant
Glutathione Peroxidase - genetics
Glutathione Peroxidase - metabolism
Nylons - toxicity
PAMAM dendrimer
Particle Size
photosynthesis
Photosynthesis - drug effects
Photosynthesis - genetics
Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
ROS
Solutions
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Summary:Abstract Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers hold great promises for biomedicine. This study sought to examine the toxicity of generation 4 (G4) cationic PAMAM dendrimer to the green microalga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, using physiological and molecular biomarkers. Results revealed that the G4 dendrimer at 15 and 25 nM stimulated the photosynthetic process and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in algae. However, the over-production of ROS did not induce the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes, catalase and glutathione peroxidase. In addition, genes encoding light-harvesting proteins (lhca and lhcb), a ferredoxin (fdx) and an oxygen-evolving enhancer protein (psb) involved in photosynthesis were repressed after treatment. Nevertheless, the expression of the lhcbm9 gene, encoding a major light harvesting polypeptide, was increased. These results suggest that the strong modulation of photosynthesis induced by the dendrimer could lead to elevated ROS levels in microalgae.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
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ISSN:1743-5390
1743-5404
DOI:10.3109/17435390.2011.579628