Metabolomics of V 2 O 5 nanoparticles and V 2 O 5 nanofibers in human airway epithelial BEAS-2B cells.

Vanadium is a toxic metal listed by the IARC as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Manufactured nanosize vanadium pentoxide (V ₂ O ₅ ) materials are used in a wide range of industrial sectors and recently have been developed as nanomedicine for cancer therapeutics, yet limited information is available to evaluate relevant nanotoxicity. In this study we used high-resolution metabolomics to assess effects of two V ₂ O ₅ nanomaterials, nanoparticles and nanofibers, at exposure levels (0.01, 0.1, and 1 ppm) that did not cause cell death (i.e., non-cytotoxic) in a human airway epithelial cell line, BEAS-2B. As prepared, V ₂ O ₅ nanofiber exhibited a fibrous morphology, with a width approximately 63 ± 12 nm and length in average 420 ± 70 nm; whereas, V ₂ O ₅ nanoparticles showed a typical particle morphology with a size 36 ± 2 nm. Both V ₂ O ₅ nanoparticles and nanofibers had dose-response effects on aminosugar, amino acid, fatty acid, carnitine, niacin and nucleotide metabolism. Differential effects of the particles and fibers included dibasic acid, glycosphingolipid and glycerophospholipid pathway associations with V ₂ O ₅ nanoparticles, and cholesterol and sialic acid metabolism associations with V ₂ O ₅ nanofibers. Examination by transmission electron microscopy provided evidence for mitochondrial stress and increased lysosome fusion by both nanomaterials, and these data were supported by effects on mitochondrial membrane potential and lysosomal activity. The results showed that non-cytotoxic exposures to V ₂ O ₅ nanomaterials impact major metabolic pathways previously associated with human lung diseases and suggest that toxico-metabolomics may be useful to evaluate health risks from V ₂ O ₅ nanomaterials.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no competing financial interests.
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