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  2. Reactive oxygen species trigger NF-κB-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation involvement in low-dose CdTe QDs exposure-induced hepatotoxicity

Reactive oxygen species trigger NF-κB-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation involvement in low-dose CdTe QDs exposure-induced hepatotoxicity

  • Redox Biol. 2021 Nov;47:102157. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2021.102157.
Yanting Pang 1 Daming Wu 1 Ying Ma 1 Yuna Cao 1 Qing Liu 1 Meng Tang 1 Yuepu Pu 1 Ting Zhang 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China.
  • 2 Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China. Electronic address: zhangting@seu.edu.cn.
Abstract

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) can be employed as imaging and drug delivery tools; however, the toxic effects and mechanisms of low-dose exposure are unclear. Therefore, this pioneering study focused on hepatic macrophages (Kupffer cells, KCs) and explored the potential damage process induced by exposure to low-dose CdTe QDs. In vivo results showed that both 2.5 μM/kg·bw and 10 μM/kg·bw could both activate KCs to cause liver injury, and produce inflammation by disturbing antioxidant levels. Abnormal liver function further verified the risks of low-dose exposure to CdTe QDs. The KC model demonstrated that low-dose CdTe QDs (0 nM, 5 nM and 50 nM) can be absorbed by cells and cause severe Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Additionally, the expression of NF-κB, Caspase-1, and NLRP3 were decreased after pretreatment with ROS scavenging agent N-acetylcysteine (NAC, 5 mM pretreated for 2 h) and the NF-κB nuclear translocation inhibitor Dehydroxymethylepoxyquinomicin (DHMEQ, 10 μg/mL pretreatment for 4 h) respectively. The results indicate that the activation of the NF-κB pathway by ROS not only directly promotes the expression of inflammatory factors such as pro-IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6, but also mediates the assembly of NLRP3 by ROS activation of NF-κB pathway, which indirectly promotes the expression of NLRP3. Finally, a high-degree of overlap between the expression of the NF-κB and NLRP3 and the activated regions of KCs, further support the importance of KCs in inflammation induced by low-dose CdTe QDs.

Keywords

Cd telluride quantum dots; Hepatic macrophages (Kupffer cell); Low-dose exposure; NLRP3 inflammasome; Reactive oxygen species.

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