Prolonged exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes dysregulates intestinal mir-35 and its direct target MAB-3 in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

In nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, some microRNAs (miRNAs) could be dysregulated by multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), suggesting their involvement in regulating the response of nematodes to MWCNTs. Among these dysregulated miRNAs induced by MWCNT exposure, prolonged exposure to MWCNTs increased mir-35 expression. mir-35 further acted in the intestine to regulate the response to MWCNTs. In the intestine, a transcription factor MAB-3 was identified as its target in regulating the response to MWCNTs. Moreover, during the control of response to MWCNTs, MAB-3 acted upstream of DAF-16, a fork head transcriptional factor in insulin signaling pathway. Therefore, MWCNTs exposure potentially dysregulates intestinal mir-35 and its direct target MAB-3, which may activate a protective intestinal response of nematodes against the MWCNTs toxicity.