title: In vitro evaluation of cellular responses induced by stable fullerene C60 medium dispersion.
abstract: Because of the expansion of the functionalities available for modification of fullerene C60 and its derivatives, their uses are increasing. However, the consequences of fullerene exposure to human health have not been fully studied. In vitro experiments are useful for risk assessment and for understanding potential applications. However, the insolubility of pristine C60 in water makes the in vitro evaluation of cellular responses difficult. To overcome this problem, we prepared a stable and uniform C60-medium dispersion for in vitro examinations. In addition, we examined the effect of the C60-medium dispersion on human keratinocyte HaCaT cells and human lung carcinoma A549 cells to understand the cellular responses induced by exposure to C60. Results indicated that exposure to C60 did not affect cell viability; neither apoptosis nor necrosis were induced, while cell proliferation was inhibited. Furthermore, intracellular oxidative stress was induced by C60 exposure in both HaCaT and A549 cells. Transmission electron microscopy indicated the cellular uptake of C60 aggregates. The results obtained from this study indicate that C60 has oxidative stress induction potential. Further examinations including in vivo studies are necessary for a more accurate evaluation of biological influences by C60.
authors.affiliation: Health Research Institute (HRI), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-8-31 Midorigaoka, Ikeda, Osaka 563-8577, Japan. masa-horie@aist.go.jp
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horie
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishio
authors.forename: Haruhisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Naohide
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Katsuhide
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kinugasa
authors.forename: Shigehisa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Endoh
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Etsuo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Niki
authors.forename: Yasukazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwahashi
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004355:Drug Stability; D037741:Fullerenes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D037741:Fullerenes; C069837:fullerene C60