| Summary: | Copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) were widely used in various industrial and commercial applications. The aim of this study was to analyze the cytotoxicity of Cu-NPs on primary hepatocytes of E.coioides compared with copper sulphate (CuSO4). Cultured cells were exposed to 0 or 2.4 mg Cu L-1 as CuSO4or Cu-NPs for 24-h. Results showed either form of Cu caused a dramatic loss in cell viability, more so in the CuSO4 than Cu-NPs treatment. Compared to control, either CuSO4 or Cu-NPs significantly increased reactive oxygen species(ROS) and malondialdehyde(MDA) concentration in hepatocytes by overwhelming total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity, catalase(CAT) activity and glutathione(GSH) concentration. In addition, the antioxidative-related genes [SOD (Cu/Zn), SOD (Mn), CAT, GPx4] were also down-regulated. The apoptosis and necrosis percentage was significantly higher after the CuSO4 or Cu-NPs treatment than the control. The apoptosis was induced by the increased cytochrome c concentration in the cytosol and elevated caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9 activities. Additionally, the apoptosis-related genes (p53, p38β and TNF-α) and protein (p53 protein) were up-regulated after the CuSO4 or Cu-NPs treatment, with CuSO4 exposure having a greater effect than Cu-NPs. In conclusion, Cu-NPs had similar types of toxic effects as CuSO4 on primary hepatocytes of E.coioides, but toxicity of CuSO4 was more severe than that of Cu-NPs.
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