In Vitro Co-Exposure to CeO2 Nanomaterials from Diesel Engine Exhaust and Benzo(a)Pyrene Induces Additive DNA Damage in Sperm and Cumulus Cells but Not in Oocytes

Martina Cotena; Mélanie Auffan; Virginie Tassistro; Noémie Resseguier; Jérôme Rose; Jeanne Perrin

doi:10.3390/nano11020478

In Vitro Co-Exposure to CeO₂ Nanomaterials from Diesel Engine Exhaust and Benzo(a)Pyrene Induces Additive DNA Damage in Sperm and Cumulus Cells but Not in Oocytes

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021 Feb 13;11(2):478. doi: 10.3390/nano11020478.

Authors

Martina Cotena^{1

2}, Mélanie Auffan^{2

3}, Virginie Tassistro¹, Noémie Resseguier⁴, Jérôme Rose^{2

3}, Jeanne Perrin^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ IMBE, CNRS, IRD, Avignon Université, Aix Marseille Univ., 13005 Marseille, France.
² CEREGE, CNRS, Aix Marseille Univ., IRD, INRAE, Coll France, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, France.
³ Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics and Public Health, La Timone Hospital, 13005 Marseille, France.
⁵ Laboratory of Reproduction Biology-CECOS, Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, AP-HM La Conception, Pôle Femmes Parents Enfants, 13005 Marseille, France.

Abstract

Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a recognized reprotoxic compound and the most widely investigated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in ambient air; it is widespread by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels along with cerium dioxide nanomaterials (CeO₂ NMs), which are used in nano-based diesel additives to decrease the emission of toxic compounds and to increase fuel economy. The toxicity of CeO₂ NMs on reproductive organs and cells has also been shown. However, the effect of the combined interactions of BaP and CeO₂ NMs on reproduction has not been investigated. Herein, human and rat gametes were exposed in vitro to combusted CeO₂ NMs or BaP or CeO₂ NMs and BaP in combination. CeO₂ NMs were burned at 850 °C prior to mimicking their release after combustion in a diesel engine. We demonstrated significantly higher amounts of DNA damage after exposure to combusted CeO₂ NMs (1 µg·L^-1) or BaP (1.13 µmol·L^-1) in all cell types considered compared to unexposed cells. Co-exposure to the CeO₂ NMs-BaP mixture induced additive DNA damage in sperm and cumulus cells, whereas no additive effect was observed in rat oocytes. This result could be related to the structural protection of the oocyte by cumulus cells and to the oocyte's efficient system to repair DNA damage compared to that of cumulus and sperm cells.

Keywords: additivity; cocktail; genotoxicity; germ cells; nanomaterials; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.