Intravenous Administration of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes Affects the Formation of Atherosclerosis in Sprague-Dawley Rats

• Published in: Journal of Occupational Health Vol. 54; no. 5; pp. 361 - 369
• Main Authors: Xu, Yu‐Ying, Yang, Jie, Shen, Ting, Zhou, Fan, Xia, Yong, Fu, Jian‐Yun, Meng, Jia, Zhang, June, Zheng, Yi‐Fan, Yang, June, Xu, Li‐Hong, Zhu, Xin‐Qiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Australia JAPAN SOCIETY FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH 01.09.2012; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis - chemically induced; Calcification; Carbon; Coronary vessels; Endothelial damage; Endothelium; Endothelium, Vascular - drug effects; Infusions, Intravenous; Male; Models, Animal; Multi‐walled carbon nanotubes; Nanotubes, Carbon - adverse effects; Occupational health; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rodents
• ISSN: 1341-9145; 1348-9585; 1348-9585
• DOI: 10.1539/joh.12-0019-oa

[Abstract: ][Intravenous Administration of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes Affects the Formation of Atherosclerosis in Sprague-Dawley Rats: Yu-Ying XU, et al. Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China-][Background: ]Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have many potential applications, including as delivery systems for a variety of diagnostic or therapeutic agents. However, it has been suggested that exposure to carbon nano-materials may be a risk for the development of vascular diseases due to its impact on the vascular endothelium. [Materials and Methods: ]Male Sprague-Dawley rats (180-200 g) were used to generate an atherosclerosis (AS) model, and the effect of intravenous administration of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on AS was studied. To further understand the underlying mechanisms, the effects of exposure of human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) to MWCNTs were examined. [Results: ]Exposure to 200 μg/kg MWCNTs aggravated AS in this model. In addition, exposure to 50, 100 and 200 μg/kg MWCNTs increased the calcification of the aorta in the model. Short-term exposure also revealed that 200 μg/kg MWCNTs injured the endothelium in the aorta. MWCNTs disrupted the endothelial tight junction and induced endothelial cell death. [Conclusion: ]The results demonstrated that MWCNTs could induce structural and functional changes in the endothelium, probably through vascular endotheliocyte injury, which eventually affected the development of AS in SD rats.