title: Aluminum Nanoparticles Induce ERK and p38MAPK Activation in Rat Brain.
abstract: Aluminum nanoparticles (Al-NPs) are one of the most widely used nanomaterial in cosmetics and medical materials. For this reason, Al-NP exposure is very likely to occur via inhalation in the environment and the workplace. Nevertheless, little is known about the mechanism of Al-NP neurotoxicity via inhalation exposure. In this study, we investigated the effect AL-NPs on the brain. Rats were exposed to Al-NPs by nasal instillation at 1 mg/kg body weight (low exposure group), 20 mg/kg body weight (moderate exposure group), and 40 mg/kg body weight (high exposure group), for a total of 3 times, with a 24-hr interval after each exposure. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis indicated that the presence of aluminum was increased in a dose-dependent manner in the olfactory bulb (OFB) and the brain. In microarray analysis, the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) activity (GO: 0043405), including Ptprc, P2rx7, Map2k4, Trib3, Trib1, and Fgd4 was significantly over-expressed in the treated mice than in the controls (p = 0.0027). Moreover, Al-NPs induced the activation of ERK1 and p38 MAPK protein expression in the brain, but did not alter the protein expression of JNK, when compared to the control. These data demonstrate that the nasal exposure of Al-NPs can permeate the brain via the olfactory bulb and modulate the gene and protein expression of MAPK and its activity.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Taek
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Gyun-Baek
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Mimi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Mi
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Ilseob
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Veterinary Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Woo
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Veterinary Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Il
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Pilje
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyunghee
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Choi
keywords: Aluminum nanoparticles; Mitogen-activated protein kinases; Nasal instillation; Neurotoxicity; Olfactory bulb