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

作者：Yu Xu, Jie Yang, Ting Shen, Fan Zhou, Yong Xia, FU Jian-yun, Jia Meng, June Zhang, Yi‐Fan Zheng, June Young Yang, Li‐Hong Xu, Xinqiang Zhu · 发表于：Journal of Occupational Health · 年份：2012 · DOI：10.1539/joh.12-0019-oa · 被引用次数：31 · 研究领域：Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications、Graphene and Nanomaterials Applications、Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications

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.