title: Cardiovascular toxicity evaluation of silica nanoparticles in endothelial cells and zebrafish model.
abstract: Environmental exposure to nanomaterials is inevitable as nanomaterials become part of our daily life, and as a result, nanotoxicity research is gaining attention. However, most investigators focus on the evaluation of overall toxicity instead of a certain organism system. In this regard, the evaluation of cardiovascular effects of silica nanoparticles was preformed in vitro and in vivo. It's worth noting that silica nanoparticles induced cytotoxicity as well as oxidative stress and apoptosis. ROS and apoptosis were considered as major factor to endothelial cells dysfunction, involved in several molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases. In vivo study, mortality, malformation, heart rate and whole-embryo cellular death were measured in zebrafish embryos. Results showed that silica nanoparticles induced pericardia toxicity and caused bradycardia. We also examined the expression of cardiovascular-related proteins in embryos by western blot analysis. Silica nanoparticles inhibited the expression of p-VEGFR2 and p-ERK1/2 as well as the downregulation of MEF2C and NKX2.5, revealed that silica nanoparticles could inhibit the angiogenesis and disturb the heart formation and development. In summary, our results suggest that exposure to silica nanoparticles is a possible risk factor to cardiovascular system.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, PR China.
authors.forename: Junchao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Yongbo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000165:Acridine Orange / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D023421:Models, Animal; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010316:Particle Size; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000633:toxicity*; D055672:Static Electricity; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000187:drug effects; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D000165:Acridine Orange