Gene expression profiling of kidneys from Sprague–Dawley rats following 12-week inhalation exposure to silver nanoparticles

Abstract The specific properties of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), such as antimicrobial activity and electrical conductivity, allow them to be used in many fields. However, their expanding application is also raising health, environmental and safety concerns. Previous in vivo AgNP toxicity studies have indicated a gender-different accumulation of silver in the kidneys, with 2–3 times more silver in female kidneys compared to male kidneys. However, no other studies have further addressed this gender difference. Accordingly, the current study investigated the gender-dependent effect of AgNPs on the kidney gene level based on toxicogenomic studies of kidneys obtained from rats exposed to AgNPs via inhalation for 12 weeks. When compared with the fresh air control, the silver nanoparticle-exposed kidneys included 104 genes with a more than 1.3-fold expression increase. For the male rat kidneys exposed to a low or high dose of silver nanoparticles, 96 genes exhibited expression changes, where six genes changed with both the low and high dose; four increased and two decreased. Meanwhile, for the female rat kidneys exposed to a low or high dose of silver nanoparticles, 66 genes exhibited expression changes, where 11 genes changed with both the low and high dose; nine increased and two decreased. Gender-dependent gene expression changes of more than 2-fold were linked to 163 genes, with 79 genes in the male kidneys and 84 genes in the female kidneys, plus gender-dependent gene expression changes of more than 5-fold were linked to 21 genes. However, no genes involved in apoptosis or the cell cycle were activated by the 12-week silver nanoparticle inhalation exposure. Overall, the male rat kidneys showed a higher expression of genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism, while the female rat kidneys showed a higher expression of genes involved in extracellular signaling.