title: Cognitive deficits and decreased locomotor activity induced by single-walled carbon nanotubes and neuroprotective effects of ascorbic acid.
abstract: Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have shown increasing promise in the field of biomedicine, especially in applications related to the nervous system. However, there are limited studies available on the neurotoxicity of SWCNTs used in vivo. In this study, neurobehavioral changes caused by SWCNTs in mice and oxidative stress were investigated. The results of ethological analysis (Morris water maze and open-field test), brain histopathological examination, and assessments of oxidative stress (reactive oxygen species [ROS], malondialdehyde [MDA], and glutathione [GSH]), inflammation (nuclear factor κB, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-1β), and apoptosis (cysteine-aspartic acid protease 3) in brains showed that 6.25 and 12.50 mg/kg/day SWCNTs in mice could induce cognitive deficits and decreased locomotor activity, brain histopathological alterations, and increased levels of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in mouse brains; however, 3.125 mg/kg/day SWCNTs had zero or minor adverse effects in mice, and these effects were blocked by concurrent administration of ascorbic acid. Down-regulation of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis were proposed to explain the neuroprotective effects of ascorbic acid. This work suggests SWCNTs could induce cognitive deficits and decreased locomotor activity, and provides a strategy to avoid the adverse effects.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Science, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Science, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Science, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jinquan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Science, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Science, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clean Energy and Advanced Materials, Southwest University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhisong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Division of Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Samuel C T
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Science, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Science, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D050997:Nanomedicine; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000633:toxicity*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D001205:Ascorbic Acid
keywords: apoptosis; behavioral changes; inflammation; oxidative stress