Fig. 5

Genotoxicity assessment and intestinal permeability in mice exposed to Ref-Au or E175 for 13 weeks. A–D Effect of subchronic oral treatment with Ref-Au (10 µg/kg BW/d) and E175 (0.1, 1 and 10 µg/kg BW/d) on γH2AX phosphorylation, a global genotoxic biomarker, in colon (A) and liver (B) cells of male mice and in colon (C) and liver (D) cells of female mice. Effect of subchronic oral treatment with Ref-Au (10 µg/kg BW/d) and E175 (0.1; 1 and 10 µg/kg BW/d) on epithelial barrier integrity in the ileum (E, F) and colon (G, H) of male mice and in the ileum (I, J) and colon (K, L) of female mice. Dextran flux and transepithelial resistance (TER) measurements for 1 h in Ussing chambers in ileum or colon segments from control mice (Ctrl), Ref-Au nanomaterial-treated mice (Ref-Au), and E175-treated mice. FITC dextran: Fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey’s test