Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Sep 3;23(9):2247.
doi: 10.3390/molecules23092247.

Silicon Dioxide Nanoparticles Enhance Endotoxin-Induced Lung Injury in Mice

Je-Won Ko  1 , Hae-Jun Lee  2 , Na-Rae Shin  3 , Yun-Soo Seo  4 , Sung-Ho Kim  5 , In-Sik Shin  6 , Joong-Sun Kim  7
Affiliations

Silicon Dioxide Nanoparticles Enhance Endotoxin-Induced Lung Injury in Mice

Je-Won Ko et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiONPs), which are metal oxide nanoparticles, have been used in a wide variety of applications. In this study, acute pulmonary responses were examined after the intranasal instillation of SiONPs in mice primed with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS, intranasal, 5 µg/mouse). The exposure to SiONPs increased the inflammatory cell counts and proinflammatory cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. SiONPs induced airway inflammation with increases in the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). The ratios of the inflammatory responses induced by the SiONPs were increased in the acute pulmonary disease model primed by LPS. Taken together, SiONPs exhibited toxicity to the respiratory system, which was associated with MAPK phosphorylation. In addition, the exposure to SiONPs exacerbated any existing inflammatory pulmonary diseases. These data showed the additive, as well as synergistic, interaction effects of SiONPs and LPS. We conclude that the exposure to SiONPs causes potential toxicity in humans, especially those with respiratory diseases.

Keywords: inflammation; mitogen-activated protein kinase; respiratory tract; silicon dioxide nanoparticles.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Morphology of SiONPs. (A,B) TEM images of SiONPs. (C,D) SEM images of SiONPs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of SiONPs exposure on inflammatory cell counts in BALF. (A) Representative images of inflammatory cells of each group. (B) Neutrophils in BALF of each group. (C) Lymphocytes in BALF of each group. (D) Macrophages in BALF of each group. (E) Eosinophils in BALF of each group. (F) Total cells in BALF of each group. Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5 per group). * p < 0.05 and ** p < 0.01 vs. vehicle control. ## p < 0.01 vs. LPS.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of SiONPs exposure on proinflammatory cytokines in BALF. Levels of (A) IL-1β and (B) TNF-α. Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5 per group). ** p < 0.01 vs. vehicle control. # p < 0.01 and ## p < 0.05 vs. LPS.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of SiONPs exposure on inflammatory responses in lung tissues of each group. (A) Representative images of inflammatory responses in lung tissue of each group. (B) Quantitative analysis of inflammatory responses in lung tissue of each group. (C) Quantitative analysis of Ki-67 expression in lung tissue of each group. Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5 per group). * and p < 0.05 and ** p < 0.01 vs. vehicle control. ## p < 0.01 vs. LPS.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of SiONPs exposure on ERK and JNK phosphorylation in lung tissues of each group. (A) ERK and JNK expression on gels. (B) Densitometric value of ERK phosphorylation. (C) Densitometric value of JNK phosphorylation. Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5 per group). ** p < 0.01 vs. vehicle control. ## p < 0.01 vs. LPS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ko J.W., Park J.W., Shin N.R., Kim J.H., Cho Y.K., Shin D.H., Kim J.C., Lee I.C., Oh S.R., Ahn K.S., et al. Copper oxide nanoparticle induces inflammatory response and mucus production via MAPK signaling in human bronchial epithelial cells. Environ. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 2016;43:21–26. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2016.02.008. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kim M.H., Na H.K., Kim Y.K., Ryoo S.R., Cho H.S., Lee K.E., Jeon H., Ryoo R., Min D.H., Kim M.H. Facile synthesis of monodispersed mesoporous silica nanoparticles with ultralarge pores and their application in gene delivery. ASC Nano. 2011;5:3568–3576. doi: 10.1021/nn103130q. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yuan L., Hua X., Wu Y., Pan X., Liu S. Polymer-functionalized silica nanosphere labels for ultrasensitive detection of tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Anal. Chem. 2011;83:6800–6809. doi: 10.1021/ac201558w. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Moghimi S.M., Hunter A.C., Murray J.C. Nanomedicine: Current status and future prospects. FASEB J. 2005;19:311–330. doi: 10.1096/fj.04-2747rev. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ahmad J., Ahamed M., Akhtar M.J., Alrokayan S.A., Siddiqui M.A., Musarrat J., Al-Khedhairy A.A. Apoptosis induction by silica nanoparticles mediated through reactive oxygen species in human liver cell line HepG2. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 2012;259:160–168. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2011.12.020. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources