Comparison of Cytotoxicity and Inhibition of Membrane ABC

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Comparison of cytotoxicity and inhibition of membrane ABC transporters induced by MWCNTs with different length and functional groups Jing Yu, Su Liu, Bing Wu, Zhuoyan Shen, Gary N. Cherr, Xu-Xiang Zhang, and Mei Li Environ. Sci. Technol., Just Accepted Manuscript • Publication Date (Web): 04 Mar 2016 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on March 4, 2016

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Environmental Science & Technology

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Comparison of cytotoxicity and inhibition of membrane

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ABC transporters induced by MWCNTs with different

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length and functional groups

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Jing Yu†, Su Liu†, Bing Wu†, Zhuoyan Shen†, Gary N. Cherr‡,§, Xu-Xiang Zhang†,

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Mei Li†

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Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, P.R. China

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Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, Davis, California, USA

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§

Departments of Environmental Toxicology and Nutrition, University of California,

State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the

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Davis, California, USA

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[email protected] (M. Li). Telephone: 0086-25-89680720. Address: 163 Xian Lin

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Avenue. Nanjing, China.

To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: [email protected] (B. Wu) or

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ABSTRACT

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Experimental studies indicate that multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have

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the potential to induce cytotoxicity. However, the reports are often inconsistent and

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even contradictory. Additionally, adverse effects of MWCNTs at low concentration

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are not well understood. In this study, we systemically compared adverse effects of

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six

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carboxyl-MWCNTs of two different lengths (0.5-2µm and 10-30µm) on human

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hepatoma cell line HepG2. Results showed that MWCNTs induced cytotoxicity by

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increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and damaging cell function.

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Pristine short MWCNTs induced higher cytotoxicity than pristine long MWCNTs.

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Functionalization increased cytotoxicity of long MWCNTs, but reduced cytotoxicity

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of short MWCNTs. Further, our results indicated that the six MWCNTs, at non-toxic

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concentration, might not be environmentally safe as they inhibited ABC transporters’

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efflux capabilities. This inhibition was observed even at very low concentrations,

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which were 40-1000 times lower than their effective concentrations on cytotoxicity.

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The inhibition of ABC transporters significantly increased cytotoxicity of arsenic, a

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known substrate of ABC transporters, indicating a chemosensitizing effect of

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MWCNTs. Plasma membrane damage was likely the mechanism by which the six

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MWCNTs inhibited ABC transporter activity. This study provides insight to risk

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assessments of low levels of MWCNTs in the environment.

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Keywords: Multi-walled carbon nanotubes, Cytotoxicity, ABC transporter, Arsenic

MWCNTs

including

pristine

MWCNTs,

hydroxyl-MWCNTs

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INTRODUCTION

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Single or multiple sheets of graphite can be rolled to form seamless cylinders

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called carbon nanotubes (CNTs). A single sheet forms a single-walled CNT

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(SWCNT), while multiple sheets form a multi-walled CNT (MWCNT)1. In recent

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years, CNTs have been synthesized and mass-produced because of their unique

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optical, electrical, and mechanical properties leading to a broad range of areas from

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consumer goods to medical applications2. Compared with SWCNTs, MWCNTs have

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great advantages on practical applications considering their more simple preparation

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process, lower price and larger production scale. Along with the wide application of

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MWCNTs, their impacts in the environment have received more and more attention.

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Toxicities of MWCNTs have been widely analyzed by in vitro and in vivo

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methods. Most of the currently available data suggest that MWCNTs are cytotoxic

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and genotoxic3, 4. Oxidative stress and membrane damage are considered as the

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widely recognized mechanism for MWCNTs-induced toxicity. Recent studies found

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that the biological reactivity and toxicity of MWCNTs depend on numerous

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physicochemical characteristics such as length, diameter, surface area, functional

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groups, and presence and nature of catalyst residues. Among those characteristics,

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length and functional groups have been proved to play critical roles in the biological

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reactivity of MWCNTs5, 6. The long MWCNTs (3-14µm) could induce higher

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cytotoxicity in RAW264.7 cell line than short MWCNTs (1.5µm)7. However, other

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studies found that short MWCNTs (0.6µm) caused higher toxicity in epithelial cell

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lines8. Additionally, functional groups can increase the solubility of MWCNTs, which

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change the toxicity of MWCNTs. However, like the influence of length, results from

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different studies on the influence of hydroxyl- and carboxyl- groups on MWCNTs

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toxicity are contradictory9, 10. Most of available studies just analyzed the influence of 3

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length or functional groups on different cell lines or animals. Because of the

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differences in characteristics of MWCNTs and exposure conditions, it is difficult to

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directly compare the results from different publications. As such, it is critical to

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systemically analyze the toxic effects of MWCNTs with different length and

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functional groups under the same experimental conditions. Recent studies found that the lowest effective concentration of MWCNTs range

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1, 9, 11

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from 5 to 20 µg/mL in different cell lines

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doses of MWCNTs may be environmentally safe. However, our previous studies

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found that the low doses of zinc oxide nanoparticle and graphene at not-toxic low

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concentration could inhibit the activity of plasma membrane ATP-binding cassette

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(ABC) transporters12, 13. In the cell membrane bilayer, ABC transporters play crucial

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roles in multidrug resistance, which can also pump xenobiotics out cells using an

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ATP-dependent mechanism, thus reducing potential toxic effects14, 15. However, the

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inhibition of ABC transporter activity induced by zinc oxide nanoparticle and

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graphene could reduce the efflux of other toxic compounds to make the cell more

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sensitive to these toxic chemicals, resulting in chemosensitization12, 13. The zinc oxide

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and

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graphene/graphene oxide (two-dimensional nanomaterial) inhibit ABC transporter

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activity via different mechanisms, where the metal oxides inhibit via competitive

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substrate while two dimensional hydrophobic materials damage the cell membrane.

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However, for MWCNTs (one-dimensional nanomaterial), no data on their

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chemosensitizing effects or efflux pump inhibition mechanisms are available. Such

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information is very important in establishing the environmental risk of MWCNTs and

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a thorough understanding of the influence of length and functional groups in the

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toxicity of MWCNTs.

copper

oxide

nanoparticles

, and it has been concluded that low

(zero-dimensional

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In this study, we choose six MWCNTs including pristine MWCNTs,

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carboxyl-MWCNTs and hydroxyl-MWCNTs of two lengths (long: 10-30µm; short:

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0.5-2µm) to compare their toxic effects in human hepatoma cell line HepG2 under

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high and low exposure levels. Cell viability, oxidative stress, mitochondrial

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membrane potential, activity of membrane ABC transporters, and chemosensitizing

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effects of the six MWCNTs were systematically analyzed. Results from this study

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provides basic information for the risk assessment of MWCNTs in the environment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

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MWCNT preparation and characterization

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Six MWCNTs with different length and functionalized groups, including pristine

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long MWCNT (M-L), pristine short MWCNT (M-S), long hydroxyl-MWCNT

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(M-L-OH),

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(M-L-COOH) and short carboxyl-MWCNT (M-S-COOH) were purchased from

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Nanjing XFNANO Materials Tech Co., Ltd. (China). Basic characteristics of the six

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MWCNTs are shown in Table 1, which are provided by the manufacture. We further

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verify their diameter in culture media by transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

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with a JEM-200CX electron microscope. The functional groups in MWCNTs were

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analyzed by FTIR spectra, which were conducted with a Thermo Nicolet NEXUS870.

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Cell culture and exposure of MWCNTs

short

hydroxyl-MWCNT

(M-S-OH),

long

carboxyl-MWCNT

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The HepG2 cell was purchased from KeyGEN Biotech (China). Cells were

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maintained in Dulbecco’s modified Eagles medium (DMEM) containing 10% fetal

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bovine serum (FBS) at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2. Stock solutions

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of MWCNTs at approximately 1000 mg/mL were prepared in deionized water by

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sonication for 30min to ensure proper dispersion. The stock solutions were diluted 5

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with DMEM to achieve final concentrations before characterization and exposure.

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Before treatment with MWCNTs, the cells were rinsed with PBS, trypsinized, and

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then transferred on to 96-well plates at a density of 1.0×104 cells/well. After 24h of

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growth, the cells were exposed to six MWCNTs for 24h, which were used for further

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analyses.

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Cell viability

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Cell viability of HepG2 was determined by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8, Dojindo

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Molecular Technologies,

Inc.

Japan).

After 24h

exposure

with

different

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concentrations of MWCNTs. 10µL of CCK-8 solution was added into each well of the

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96-well plate, and incubated for 2h at 37oC with 5% CO2. Then, the cells were

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measured at 450nm with a microplate reader (Synergy H1, BioTek). Cell viability was

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calculated from the relative absorbance.

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Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS)

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Intracellular ROS level was measured by cell dye 2,7-dichlorofluorescin

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diacetate (DCF, Molecular Probes). In order to reduce the errors from loss of cell

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number during MWCNTs exposure, Hoechst 33342 (YeaSen Bio-technology), a

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fluorescent dye used to stain DNA, was used to measure the number of HepG2 cells

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remaining in each well and to normalize the DCF fluorescence value16, 17. After

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MWCNTs exposure, DCF (final concentration: 10µM) was added into each well of

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96-well plate. After 25min incubation, the cells were washed by PBS. Then, Hoechst

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33342 (final concentration: 5µg/mL) was added and incubated for 15min. The

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fluorescence values of DCF and Hoechst 33342 were measured using a microplate

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reader (Synergy H1, BioTek). The excitation and emission wavelengths for DCF are

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485nm and 530nm, respectively, while 350nm and 460nm was used for Hoechst

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33342. 6

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Mitochondrial membrane potential Mitochondrial membrane potential, which is an early indicator of cell apoptosis, 18

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was measured by a JC1 detection kit (KeyGEN, Nanjing)

. After 24h exposure of

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MWCNTs, JC1 solution (final concentration: 20nM) was added into each well of a

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96-well plate, and the plate was incubated for 25min. The fluorescence values of JC1

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were measured by a microplate reader (Synergy H1, BioTek). There are two

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fluorescence values for JC1. The excitation and emission wavelengths for red

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fluorescence were 485nm and 530nm, while those for green fluorescence were 530nm

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and 590nm, respectively. The ratio of red to green fluorescence values was used to

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indicate the mitochondrial membrane potential.

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Lysosome

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Lysosomes in HepG2 cell were determined by Lysotracker® Deep Red

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(Molecular Probes), which indirectly indicate cell uptake of MWCNTs19. Like the

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DCF assay, Hoechst 33342 was used to normalize the fluorescence value of

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Lysotracker. After 24h exposure of MWCNTs, Lysotracker solution (final

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concentration: 50nM) was added into each well and the cells were incubated for

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30min. Then Hoechst 33342 was added and incubated as described above. Finally,

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cells were analyzed on a microplate reader (Synergy H1, BioTek). The excitation and

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emission wavelengths for Lysosotracker were 647nm and 668nm, respectively.

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Membrane transporter activity

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Calcein-AM (CAM, Dojingdo Molecular Technologies, Inc. Japan) was used to

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indicate ABC transporter activity through a dye accumulation assay20, 21. MK571, a

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known inhibitor of multidrug resistance associated proteins (MRPs/ABCCs), one

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subfamily of ABC transporters, was used as the positive control22. After 24h exposure

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of MWCNTs, CAM with a final concentration of 0.25µM was added to each well of a 7

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96-well plate. After 2h incubation, the cells were washed with Hanks buffer. Hoechst

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33342 was also used to normalize the CAM fluorescence values to cell number. The

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fluorescence values were measured on a microplate reader (Synergy H1, Bioteck).

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The excitation and emission wavelengths of CAM were 485nm and 530nm,

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respectively. CAM fluorescence images of HepG2 after MWCNTs exposure were

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captured using an inverted fluorescence microscope (Nikon Eclipse Ti-U).

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Co-exposure of MWCNTs and arsenic

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We investigated whether the inhibition of ABC transporter activity could result in

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chemosensitization and thus influence toxicity of other pollutants. Arsenic (As), a

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known substrate of ABCC transporters, was chosen as the target pollutant. Arsenic

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oxide was obtained from NSI Solution Inc. Two strategies of co-exposure of

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MWCNTs and As were utilized. The first strategy was to add As at the beginning of

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exposure; after 12h exposure, MWCNTs were added for another 12h co-exposure.

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The second strategy was to add MWCNTs at the beginning of exposure; after 12h, the

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As was added. MK571 was used as the positive control of inhibition of transporter

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activity, and was added as described above two strategies. Intracellular ROS level was

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chosen as the toxic endpoint.

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Membrane fluidity

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Membrane

fluidity

was

determined

by

4′-(trimethylammonio)-

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diphenylhexatriene (TMA-DPH) (AAT Bioquest Inc., USA). After 24h exposure of

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MWCNTs, the TMA-DPH (final concentration: 1.5µM) was added into each well and

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the cells were incubated for 20min. Polarization ratio of TMA-DPH was measured in

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a microplate reader (Synergy H1, Bioteck). Membrane fluidity was negative

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correlated with the value of fluorescence polarization. A background control without

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the TMA-DPH probe was measured under the same conditions as the samples. 8

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Western blotting

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Expression levels of MRP2 protein, an important ABCC transporter were

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determined by Western blotting. After MWCNTs exposure, RIPA Lysis buffer

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(SunShine Bio, China) was used to extract proteins of HepG2 cell. 100µg of extracted

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proteins were separated on 10% SDS-PAGE and transferred onto a PVDF membrane.

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The membrane was blocked with 5% skim milk in TBS buffer with 0.1% Tween 20

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(pH7.6) for 2h and incubated with primary antibody (1:200 rabbit anti-human MRP2

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antibody) at 4oC overnight. After two washes with PBS buffer saline Tween-20

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(PBST), the membrane was washed with PBS buffer and incubated with secondary

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antibody for 2h at room temperature. Immunopositive bands were detected using

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enhanced chemiluminescent western blotting reagents (Pierce, Nashville, TN, USA).

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Levels of GAPDH were used as internal control to account for total loading.

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Experiments were conducted three times.

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Statistical analysis

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For all assays, 3 independent trials were performed, and each trial was replicated

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6 times. Results were expressed as mean ± standard errors. Statistical analyses

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between MWCNTs treated and control samples were calculated using one-way

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analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey post hoc test by Graphpad Prism 6.

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Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

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Characteristics of MWCNTs

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Structural parameters of the six MWCNTs from Nanjing XFNANO Materials

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Tech Co Ltd. are shown in Table 1. The length of long MWCNTs ranges from 10 µm

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to 30µm, which are about 20-times longer than short MWCNTs (0.5-2µm). The

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contents of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups in functionalized MWCNTs were 5.58% 9

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and 3.86%, respectively. TEM was used to characterize the six MWCNTs. As shown

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in Figure S1, the six MWCNTs were “bamboo like”. Determination of the outside

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diameter was similar to what has been reported by the manufacturer. Further, FTIR

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spectra of functionalized MWCNTs analyses found that the peak at approximate

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1714cm-1 can be attributed to the stretching vibration of carbon-oxygen group, while

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it was negligible in the pristine MWCNTs (Figure S2).

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Effect of MWCNTs on HepG2 cell viability

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The 24h exposure of six MWCNTs significantly decreased the cell viability of

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HepG2 and showed a concentration-depend response (Figure 1). M-L-COOH and

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M-L-OH at 2µg/mL and higher concentrations caused the significant decreases in cell

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viability. However, the lowest effective concentrations for M-L, M-S-COOH, and

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M-S were 5µg/mL, and for M-S-OH it was 10µg/mL. With the increase of exposure

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concentration, M-L-COOH induced lower cell viability than M-L-OH and M-L,

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indicating that functionalization of long MWCNTs increased the cytotoxicity.

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However, the functionalization of short MWCNTs decreased their cytotoxicity.

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Further, for MWCNTs with the same functional groups, M-L-COOH induced higher

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cytotoxicity than M-S-COOH, but the M-L caused lower cytotoxicity than M-S

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(Figures S3).

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Generation of intracellular ROS

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Exposure of the six MWCNTs significantly increased the intracellular ROS

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generation, which was based on the increase of DCF fluorescence values (Figures 2A

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and 2B). The long MWCNTs with or without functionalized groups significantly

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increased ROS generation at 2µg/mL and higher concentrations. However the lowest

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effective concentration for the three short MWCNTs was 5µg/mL. With increased of

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exposure concentration, M-L-COOH and M-L-OH induced more ROS generation 10

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than M-L. However, M-S induced more ROS generation than M-S-COOH and

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M-S-OH. Further, M-S induced more ROS generation than M-L. However, when the

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MWCNTs were functionalized by the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, M-L-COOH and

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M-L-OH caused more ROS generation than M-S-COOH and M-S-OH (Figures S4).

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Changes in mitochondrial membrane potential

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Mitochondrial membrane potential was analyzed using the JC1 assay, in which

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mitochondrial depolarization (early indicator of cell apoptosis) was determined by

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decrease of red/green fluorescence intensity ratio23. The results showed that the six

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MWCNTs significantly decreased the red/green ratio of JC1 at 2µg/mL and higher

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concentrations (Figures 2C and 2D), indicating the mitochondrial depolarization and

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potential cell apoptosis. The different functionalization in long and short MWCNTs

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showed that carboxyl functionalized MWCNTs and pristine MWCNTs caused lower

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red/green ratio of JC1 compared to hydroxyl functionalized MWCNTs, but no

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significant differences were found between the long and short MWCNTs with the

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same functional groups (Figure S5). For pristine MWNCTs, the M-L caused lower

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lower red/green ratio of JC1 than M-S (p M-S-COOH = M-S = M-L >

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M-L-OH > M-L-COOH. CAM accumulation in HepG2 was also verified by

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microscope images (Figure S8).

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Influence of MWCNTs on arsenic toxicity

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The As was chosen as the target pollutant to identify the chemosensitizing

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activity of MWCNTs. As within the cell can be conjugated by glutathione (GSH) into

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As-GSH, which is a substrate of ABCCs/MRPs24. ROS generation, one of the

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mechanisms of As toxicity was chosen as the toxic endpoint. Two strategies of

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co-exposure were applied. Results showed that MK571 significantly increased ROS

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generation caused by As alone at non-toxic concentration with the both strategies

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(Figure 4), indicating the inhibition of ABC transporter activities indeed increased As

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toxicity. For co-exposure of As and MWCNTs, MWCNTs at non-toxic concentrations

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also significantly increased the ROS generation induced by As with the both strategies 12

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used in this study. For long MWCNTs, functional groups significantly increased their

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chemosensitizing activity and –OH group had greater influence than –COOH group.

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However, for short MWCNTs, the functional groups decreased the chemosensitizing

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activity of MWCNTs, and –COOH group had greater influence than –OH group.

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Cell membrane damage

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Membrane fluidity plays an important role in membrane functions, including the

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functions of membrane ABC transporters. In this study, membrane fluidity of HepG2

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was measured by detecting fluorescence polarization of the TMA-DPH. Polarization

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ratio (P) values of TMA-DPH in HepG2 exposed to the six MWCNTs are shown in

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Figure 5. Exposure of MWCNTs significantly decreased the P values, indicating an

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increased membrane fluidity. Similar results have been found in the impact of carbon

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nanotubes on membrane fluidity of bacteria25. Further, the lowest effective

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concentrations in membrane fluidity were very similar with the lowest effective

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concentrations of CAM accumulation, indicating changes in membrane fluidity might

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be the potential reason for inhibition of ABC transporter activity.

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Expression of MRP2 in HepG2

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Western blotting was used to measure the expression of MRP2 in HepG2.

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Results showed that the MWCNTs at low concentration did not significantly change

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the expression of MRP2 protein, except for the M-S-OH and M-L (Figure S10). No

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decrease in expression that would correlate with decreased transporter activity was

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observed.

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DISCUSSION

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In the present study we assessed the toxic effects of six MWCNTs with different

309

lengths and functional groups. To date there are very few studies that simultaneously 13

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compare toxic effects of different MWCNTs in a single study. Further, the

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chemosensitizing effects of low levels of MWCNTs have previously not been

312

considered. Our results show that MWCNTs with different lengths and functional

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groups can reduce cell viability, and concentration-dependent relationships were

314

identified. Increased ROS generation has been shown to be one of the primary

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mechanisms by which MWCNTs induce cytotoxicity26, 27. Many studies have found

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that MWCNTs could induce ROS generation and oxidative stress28-30. Similar to these

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studies, our results showed that the six MWCNTs investigated induced ROS

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generation, and the effective concentrations on ROS generation were very similar to

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those found to impact cell viability (Figures 1 and 2). Additionally, many studies have

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shown that ROS generation is linked to mitochondrial oxidative damage and

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apoptosis. Our results found that MWCNTs exposure induced mitochondrial

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depolarization, indicating potential cell apoptosis (Figure 2). However, since the ROS

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generation and changes in mitochondrial membrane potential were influenced by

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different pathways, differences in potency in ROS and mitochondrial membrane

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potentials were found among the six MWCNTs. Further, we found an increase in

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lysosomes after following MWCNTs exposure, which indirectly indicates that cells

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uptake of MWCNTs. The nanotubes entering the cells were found to have ability

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inducing oxidative stress by disturbing the balance between oxidant and antioxidant

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processes, e.g. the glutathione system31. Thus, the increased ROS generation in

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HepG2 cells exposed to MWCNTs might be due to the cell uptake of MWCNTs.

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According to the above results, the lowest effective concentrations for six MWCNTs

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on cell viability, ROS generation, lysosome and mitochondrial membrane potential

333

were very similar. Thus, we can deduce that when MWCNTs are exposed to HepG2

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cells, they enter into the cell, then increase ROS generation and damage cell function

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(mitochondrial membrane potential) to induce cytotoxicity (decrease of cell viability).

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The MWCNTs with different lengths and functional groups induced different

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degree of cytotoxicity. Table 2 summarized the toxicity of different MWCNTs. M-S

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induced higher cytotoxicity than M-L, which might be due to the possibility that the

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shorter ones could more easily enter into the cells32. For example, Monteiro-Riviere et

340

al.33 showed that MWCNTs could enter into human keratinocytes, however the longer

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nanotubes tended to form aggregates, thus decreasing their toxicity. Han et al.34 also

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found that the smaller sized MWCNTs were more toxic than the longer ones, possibly

343

because the smaller nanotubes were easier to be incorporated into the cytoplasm. We

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found that when MWCNTs were functionalized, M-L-COOH and M-L-OH induced a

345

greater toxicity than M-L. Similar results were found in the study from Patlolla et al.35,

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which found that long functionalized MWCNTs (lengths of 15-20 µm) had a higher

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clastogenic and genotoxic potential compared to non-functionalized form. The

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functionalization with –COOH and -OH might be a potential way to improve

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solubility of MWCNTs in water, which may make the actual exposure concentration

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higher via increased bioavailability36, increasing cell-nanotube contact10, thus leading

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to the higher cytotoxicity. However, for short MWCNTs, M-S-COOH and M-S-OH

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induced lower toxicity than M-S, which might be due to the functionalization with –

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COOH and -OH further improve the solubility and biocompatibility of short

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MWCNTs37, which results in lower toxicity38. Based on above results,

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functionalization could increase the solubility of long MWCNTs and reduce their

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aggregation, resulting in an increase of cytotoxicity. However, functionalization

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allows short MWCNTs to easily enter into cells and improves their biocompatibility,

358

resulting in a decrease in cytotoxicity. 15

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For low concentrations (