Cerium oxide nanoparticle
s (nanoceria) are engineered nanoparticle
s who
se ver
satility i
s due to their unique redox propertie
s. We and other
s have demon
strated that naked nanoceria can act a
s antioxidant
s to protect cell
s again
st oxidative damage. Although the redox propertie
s may be beneficial, the genome-wide effect
s of nanoceria on gene tran
scription and a
ssociated biological proce
sse
s remain elu
sive. Here we applied a functional genomic approach to examine the genome-wide effect
s of nanoceria on global gene tran
scription and cellular function
s in mou
se neuronal cell
s. Importantly, we demon
strated that nanoceria induced chemical- and
size-
specific change
s in the murine neuronal cell tran
scriptome. The nanoceria contributed more than 83 % of the population of uniquely altered gene
s and were a
ssociated with a unique
spectrum of gene
s related to neurological di
sea
se, cell cycle control, and growth. The
se ob
servation
s sugge
st that an in-depth a
sse
ssment of potential health effect
s of naked nanoceria and other naked nanoparticle
s i
s both nece
ssary and imminent.
ss=""h4"">From the Clinical Editor
Cerium oxide nanoparticles are important antioxidants, with potential applications in neurodegenerative conditions. This team of investigators demonstrated the genomic effects of nanoceria, showing that it induced chemical- and size-specific changes in the murine neuronal cell transcriptome.