title: Size-dependent cytotoxicity of europium doped NaYF ₄ nanoparticles in endothelial cells.
abstract: Lanthanide-doped sodium yttrium fluoride (NaYF4) nanoparticles exhibit novel optical properties which make them be widely used in various fields. The extensive applications increase the chance of human exposure to these nanoparticles and thus raise deep concerns regarding their riskiness. In the present study, we have synthesized europium doped NaYF4 (NaYF4:Eu(3+)) nanoparticles with three diameters and used endothelial cells (ECs) as a cell model to explore the potential toxic effect. The cell viability, cytomembrane integrity, cellular uptake, intracellular localization, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), apoptosis detection, caspase-3 activity and expression of inflammatory gene were studied. The results indicated that these nanoparticles could be uptaken into ECs and decrease the cell viability, induce the intracellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, increase the ROS level, and decrease the cell MMP in a size-dependent manner. Besides that, the cells were suffered to apoptosis with the caspase-3 activation, and the inflammation specific gene expressions (ICAM1 and VCAM1) were also increased. Our results suggest that the damage pathway may be related to the ROS generation and mitochondrial damage. The results provide novel evidence to elucidate their toxicity mechanisms and may be helpful for more rational applications of these compounds in the future.
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of the Ministry of Education, Chemical Biology Key Laboratory of Hebei Province, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China.
authors.forename: Shizhu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of the Ministry of Education, Chemical Biology Key Laboratory of Hebei Province, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China.
authors.forename: Cuimiao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of the Ministry of Education, Chemical Biology Key Laboratory of Hebei Province, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of the Ministry of Education, Chemical Biology Key Laboratory of Hebei Province, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianlei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of the Ministry of Education, Chemical Biology Key Laboratory of Hebei Province, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China. Electronic address: wsx@hbu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shuxiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of the Ministry of Education, Chemical Biology Key Laboratory of Hebei Province, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China. Electronic address: jczhang6970@163.com.
authors.forename: Jinchao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D005063:Europium / Q000737:chemistry*; D005459:Fluorides / Q000633:toxicity*; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; D006801:Humans; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism; D015019:Yttrium / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; C525362:sodium yttriumtetrafluoride; D005063:Europium; D015019:Yttrium; D005459:Fluorides
keywords: Apoptosis; Cytotoxicity; Endothelial cells; NaYF(4):Eu(3+); Oxidative stress; Size dependence