Nanoparticle exposure and systemic/cardiovascular effects - experimental data.
Source
Nanotechnology - Toxicological Issues and Environmental Safety (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series / NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security). Simeonova PP, Opopol N, Luster MI. eds., Dordrecht, Netheralnds: Springer, 2007 May; :53-64
Abstract
The most attractive properties of nanomaterials for medical and technological applications, including their small size, large surface area, and high reactivity, are also the main factors for their potential toxicity. Thus, some nanosized materials may induce not only a damage at the deposition site but also distant responses as a result of their translocation and/or reactivity through the body. The exposure to low doses of these materials may modify the progression of existing pathophysiological conditions including cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In this respect, epidemiological and experimental studies have suggested an association between respiratory exposure to ambient ultrafine particles and the progression of cardiovascular disease. Our research efforts are currently directed to evaluate the cardiovascular effects, including vascular inflammation, blood cell coagulation status, atherosclerosis, as well as the related molecular mechanisms associated with respiratory exposure to different types of nanosized materials using animal models. Recently, we demonstrate that lung instillation of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is associated with a dose-dependent increase in oxidative vascular damage manifested by heme oxygenase-(HO-I) gene activation and mitochondrial alterations. Since these types of oxidative modifications are considered to play a role in atherogenesis, we further evaluated the effects of SWCNT respiratory exposure on atherosclerosis progression in ApoE-/- transgenic mice, a widely used model of human atherosclerosis. The accumulation of toxicological data on engineered nanomaterials will allow for development of adequate risk assessment and regulations.
Keywords
Cardiopulmonary-system-disorders; Cardiovascular-system-disease; Cardiopulmonary-system; Cardiovascular-system-disorders; Laboratory-animals; Animal-studies; Particle-aerodynamics; Nanotechnology
Contact
Toxicology and Molecular Biology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
Document Type
Book or book chapter; Conference/Symposia Proceedings
Editors
Simeonova-PP; Opopol-N; Luster-MI
Priority Area
Manufacturing
Source Name
Nanotechnology - Toxicological Issues and Environmental Safety (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series / NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security)
