Induction of protective response to polystyrene nanoparticles associated with dysregulation of intestinal long non-coding RNAs in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Abstract Intestinal barrier plays a crucial function during the response to polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the control of various biological processes, including stress response. We here used C. elegans to determine intestinal lncRNAs dysregulated by PS-NPs (1–100 μg/L). In intestine of PS-NPs exposed worms, we found four lncRNAs (linc-61, linc-50, linc-9, and linc-2) in response to PS-NPs and with the function in controlling PS-NPs toxicity. The alteration in expressions of these four intestinal lncRNAs reflected a protective response to PS-NPs exposure. During the response to PS-NPs, limited number of transcriptional factors functioned as the downstream targets of these four lncRNAs. linc-2 acted upstream of DAF-16, linc-9 acted upstream of NHR-77, linc-50 functioned upstream of DAF-16, and linc-61 regulated the functions of DAF-16, DVE-1, and FKH-2 to control PS-NPs toxicity. The obtained data demonstrated the important role of lncRNAs in intestinal barrier to mediate a protective response to PS-NPs exposure at low concentrations.