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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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†

6



7

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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12

[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

18

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

19

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

20

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.

25

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

34

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

291

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

293

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

295

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

313

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

314

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

315

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

316

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

317

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

318

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

320

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

324

different pathways, differences in potency in ROS and mitochondrial membrane

325

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

327

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

329

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

332

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

337

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

339

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

341

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

342

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

344

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,

346

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

349

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

352

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

356

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,

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resulting in a decrease in cytotoxicity. 15

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For low concentrations (