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Apoptotic, inflammatory, and fibrogenic effects of two different types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in mouse lung

  • Organ Toxicity and Mechanisms
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Abstract

There is increasing concern about the toxicity of inhaled multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Pulmonary macrophages represent the primary cell type involved in the clearance of inhaled particulate materials, and induction of apoptosis in these cells has been considered to contribute to the development of lung fibrosis. We have investigated the apoptotic, inflammogenic, and fibrogenic potential of two types of MWCNTs, characterised by a contrasting average tube length and entanglement/agglomeration. Both nanotube types triggered H2O2 formation by RAW 264.7 macrophages, but in vitro toxicity was exclusively seen with the longer MWCNT. Both types of nanotubes caused granuloma in the mouse lungs. However, the long MWCNT induced a more pronounced pro-fibrotic (mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase-8 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1) and inflammatory (serum level of monocyte chemotactic protein-1) response. Masson trichrome staining also revealed epithelial cell hyperplasia for this type of MWCNT. Enhanced apoptosis was detected by cleaved caspase 3 immunohistochemistry in lungs of mice treated with the long and rigid MWCNT and, to a lesser extent, with the shorter, highly agglomerated MWCNT. However, staining was merely localised to granulomatous foci, and neither of the MWCNTs induced apoptosis in vitro, evaluated by caspase 3/7 activity in RAW 264.7 cells. In addition, our study reveals that the inflammatory and pro-fibrotic effects of MWCNTs in the mouse lung can vary considerably depending on their composition. The in vitro analysis of macrophage apoptosis appears to be a poor predictor of their pulmonary hazard.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Burkhard Stahlmecke (IUTA) for the electron microscopy characterisation of MWCNTs, and Christel Weishaupt and Petra Gross (IUF) for technical support. This study was financially supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and an ERS/Marie Curie Fellowship (awarded to AWB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Particle Research, IUF-Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Auf’m Hennekamp 50, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    D. van Berlo, V. Wilhelmi, A. W. Boots, M. Hullmann, R. P. F. Schins & C. Albrecht

  2. Division of Biological Stress Response, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    D. van Berlo

  3. Department of Toxicology, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    A. W. Boots & A. Bast

  4. Air Quality and Sustainable Nanotechnology, Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology e.V. (IUTA), 47229, Duisburg, Germany

    T. A. J. Kuhlbusch

  5. CENIDE, University Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany

    T. A. J. Kuhlbusch

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  1. D. van Berlo
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  2. V. Wilhelmi
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  3. A. W. Boots
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  4. M. Hullmann
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  7. R. P. F. Schins
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Correspondence to D. van Berlo or C. Albrecht.

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D. van Berlo and V. Wilhelmi have contributed equally to this work.

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van Berlo, D., Wilhelmi, V., Boots, A.W. et al. Apoptotic, inflammatory, and fibrogenic effects of two different types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in mouse lung. Arch Toxicol 88, 1725–1737 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-014-1220-z

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