The effects of alumina and polystyrene nanoparticles on global DNA methylation, antimicrobial peptides and intergenerational inheritance of Galleria mellonella.

The epigenetic and immunological effects of nanoparticles (NPs), which have started to be described as nano-pollutants today, are of great interest in living organisms. Particularly alumina (Al) and polystyrene (PS) are among the most produced NPs. Galleria mellonella larvae, an ideal model for the multi-generational effects of these NPs on global DNA methylation and the immune system, were used in the experiments. Al-NPs were bought, and PS-NPs were produced by the single emulsion solvent evaporation method. Al and PS-NPs were administered to larvae at different concentrations by changing only the water content in the diet. Global DNA methylation levels in the first and second generations were determined by HPLC. The expression levels of β-actin, transferrin, galiomycin, and p38 MAPK genes which constitute antimicrobial peptides, one of the humoral immune responses, were determined by RT-qPCR in two generations. The data obtained revealed that Al and PS-NPs increased global DNA methylation, and partially suppressed humoral immune responses. Furthermore, changes in genomic DNA methylation and immune-related gene expression levels induced by NPs in first generation larvae were found to be inherited by the next generation. Considering the importance of multigenerational epigenetic effects and changes in the immune system, our study results contribute to the literature and reveal the importance of such studies.