Molecular mechanism of hippocampal apoptosis of mice following exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles

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• 作者：Renping Hu^a ; ¹ ; Lei Zheng^a ; ¹ ; Ting Zhang^b ; ^c ; ¹ ; Guodong Gao^a ; ¹ ; Yaling Cui^a ; Zhe Cheng^a ; Jie Cheng^a ; Mengmeng Hong^a ; Meng Tang^b ; ^c ; ^{tm@seu.edu.cn"" rel=""nofollow} ; Fashui Hong^a ; ^{Hongfsh_cn@sina.com"" rel=""nofollow}
• 关键词：Titanium dioxide nanoparticles ; Mice ; Hippocampus ; Apoptotic pathway
• 刊名：Journal of Hazardous Materials
• 出版年：2011
• 出版时间：15 July 2011
• 年：2011
• 卷：191
• 期：1-3
• 页码：32-40
• 全文大小：1082 K

文摘

Previous studies demonstrate that the exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) damages the central nervous system of mice; however, very little is known about the effects of TiO₂ NPs on hippocampal apoptosis or its molecular mechanism. The present study investigated the molecular mechanism associated with hippocampal apoptosis in mice induced by intragastric administration of TiO₂ NPs for consecutive 60 days. Our findings indicate that TiO₂ NPs accumulate in the mouse hippocampus, and this accumulation, in turn, led to hippocampal apoptosis and impairment in spatial recognition memory in mice. In addition, TiO₂ NPs significantly activated caspase-3 and -9, inhibited Bcl-2, and promoted the levels of Bax and cytochrome c. Furthermore, TiO₂ NPs induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species in the mouse hippocampus. These findings suggest that TiO₂ NP-induced apoptosis in the mouse hippocampus may result from an intrinsic pathway, and workers and consumers should take great caution when handling nanomaterials.