Investigation of the effects of short-term inhalation of carbon nanoparticles on brains and lungs of c57bl/6j and p47phox−/− mice

• Inhalation of carbon nanoparticles induces oxidative stress responses in mouse lung.
• No induction was found in lungs of p47phox−/− mice.
• No inflammation/oxidative stress was observed in brains from p47phox−/− and p47phox+/+ mice.

Recent studies indicate that the brain is a target for toxic carbonaceous nanoparticles present in ambient air. It has been proposed that the neurotoxic effects of such particles are driven by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase mediated generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in activated microglia. In the present study, we have evaluated the effects of short term (4 h) nose-only inhalation exposure to carbon NP (CNP) in the brains and lungs of C57BL/6J mice and in p47phox−/− mice that lack a functional NADPH oxidase. It was shown that the lungs of the p47phox−/− mice are less responsive to CNP inhalation than lungs of the corresponding C57BL/6J control animals. Lung tissue mRNA expression of the oxidative stress/DNA damage response genes 8-oxoguanine glycosylase (OGG1) and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) were induced by CNP exposure in C57BL/6J but not in the p47phox−/− mice. In contrast, the expression of these genes, as well as Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNFα), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) was not altered in the olfactory bulb, cerebellum or remaining brain tissue part of either mouse background. This indicates that neuroinflammation was not induced by this exposure. CNP inhalation for 4 h or for 4 h on three consecutive days also did not affect brain tissue protein expression of interleukin (IL)-1β, while a clear significant difference in constitutive expression level of this pro-inflammatory cytokine was found between C57BL/6J and p47phox−/− mice. In conclusion, short-term inhalation exposure to pure carbon nanoparticles can trigger mild p47phox dependent oxidative stress responses in the lungs of mice whereas in their brains at the same exposure levels signs of oxidative stress and inflammation remain absent. The possible role of p47phox in the neuro-inflammatory effects of nanoparticles in vivo remains to be clarified.