Toxicity and clearance of intratracheally administered multiwalled carbon nanotubes from murine lung.
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are known to have widespread industrial applications; however, several reports indicated that these compounds may be associated with adverse effects in humans. In this study, multiwalled carbon nanotubes were administered to murine lungs intratracheally to determine whether acute and chronic pulmonary toxicity occurred. In particular, pristine multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PMWCNT) and acid-treated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (TMWCNT) were used in this study. In broncheoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cell analysis, PMWCNT induced more severe acute inflammatory cell recruitment than TMWCNT. Histopathologically, both PMWCNT and TMWCNT induced multifocal inflammatory granulomas in a dose-dependent manner. The observed granulomas were reversible, with TMWCNT-induced granulomas diminishing faster than PMWCNT-induced granulomas. Although the area of granuloma reduced with time, hyperplasia and dysplastic characteristics such as mitotic figures, anisokaryosis, and anisocytosis were still observed. These findings demonstrate that MWCNT induces granulomatous inflammation, and the duration and pattern of inflammation seem to vary depending upon the types of MWCNT to which mice are exposed. Therefore, toxicity studies on various types of CNT are needed as the responsiveness to these compounds differs.
Kim
Ji-Eun
JE
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Lim
Hwang-Tae
HT
Minai-Tehrani
Arash
A
Kwon
Jung-Taek
JT
Shin
Ji-Young
JY
Woo
Chang-Gyu
CG
Choi
Mansoo
M
Baek
Jongho
J
Jeong
Dae Hong
DH
Ha
Yoon-Cheol
YC
Chae
Chan-Hee
CH
Song
Kyung-Suk
KS
Ahn
Kang-Ho
KH
Lee
Ji-Hyun
JH
Sung
Ha-Jung
HJ
Yu
Il-Je
IJ
Beck
George R
GR
Cho
Myung-Haing
MH
D000208:Acute Disease; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000145:classification / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015745:Granuloma, Foreign-Body / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D019570:Inhalation Exposure; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000633:toxicity*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon