title: Single-walled carbon nanotube induction of rat aortic endothelial cell apoptosis: Reactive oxygen species are involved in the mitochondrial pathway.
abstract: The use of nano-sized materials offers exciting new options in technical and medical applications. Single-walled carbon nanotubes are emerging as technologically important in different industries. However, adverse effects on cells have been reported and this may limit their use. We previously found that 200μg/mL of single-walled carbon nanotubes induce apoptosis in rat aorta endothelial cells. The current study aimed to determine the signaling pathway involved in this process. We found that reactive oxygen species generation was involved in activation of the mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway. The finding of apoptosis was supported by a number of morphological and biochemical hallmarks, including chromatin condensation, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and caspase-3 activation. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that single-walled carbon nanotubes induce apoptosis in rat aorta endothelial cells and that reactive oxygen species are involved in the mitochondrial pathway.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Dali Road 1#, Heping District, Tianjin 300050, China. newmyhappysky@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Wen-Wen
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Zhi-Qing
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Bo-Fei
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Chen-Xi
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Xian-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Chuan-Lu
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Li-Hua
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jie-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Zhu-Ge
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Xi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017304:Annexin A5 / Q000378:metabolism; D001011:Aorta / Q000166:cytology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D051381:Rats; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017304:Annexin A5; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D053148:Caspase 3; D005978:Glutathione