Project description:Environmental stimulation during brain development is an important risk factor for the development of neurodegenerative disease. Clinical evidence indicates that prenatal exposure to particulate air pollutants leads to diffuse damage to the neurovascular unit in the developing brain and accelerates neurodegeneration. Maternal exposure to carbon black nanoparticles (CB-NPs), used as a model for particulate air pollution, induces long-lasting diffuse perivascular abnormalities. We aimed to comprehensively characterize the perivascular abnormalities related to maternal NPs exposure using Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (in situ FT-IR) and classical staining analysis. Pregnant ICR mice were intranasally treated with a CB-NPs suspension (95 ?g/kg at a time) on gestational days 5 and 9. Brains were collected 6 weeks after birth and sliced to prepare 10-?m-thick serial sections. Reflective spectra of in situ FT-IR were acquired using lattice measurements (x-axis: 7, y-axis: 7, 30-?m apertures) around a centered blood vessel. We also performed mapping analysis of protein secondary structures. Serial sections were stained with using periodic acid-Schiff or immunofluorescence to examine the phenotypes of the perivascular areas. Peaks of amide I bands in spectra from perivascular areas were shifted by maternal NPs exposure. However, there were two types of peak-shift in one mouse in the exposure group. Some vessels had a large peak-shift and others had a small peak-shift. In situ FT-IR combined with traditional staining revealed that the large peak-shift was induced around blood vessel adjacent to astrocytes with glial fibrillary acidic protein and aquaporin-4 over-expression and perivascular macrophages (PVMs) with enlarged lysosome granules. Furthermore, protein secondary structural analysis indicated that maternal NPs exposure led to increases in ?-sheet content and decreases in ?-helix content in areas that are mostly close to the centered blood vessel displaying histopathological changes. These results suggest that ?-sheet-rich waste proteins, which are denatured by maternal NPs exposure, likely accumulate in the perivascular space as they are processed by the clearance systems in the brain. This may in turn lead the denaturation of PVMs and astrocyte activation. The risk of neurodegeneration may be enhanced by exposure to particulate air pollutants during brain development following the perivascular accumulation of ?-sheet-rich waste proteins.

Project description:BackgroundEngineered nanoparticles are smaller than 100 nm and designed to improve or creating even new physico-chemical properties. Consequently, toxicological properties of materials may change as size reaches the nm size-range. We examined outcomes related to the central nervous system in the offspring following maternal inhalation exposure to nanosized carbon black particles (Printex 90).MethodsTime-mated mice (NMRI) were exposed by inhalation, for 45 min/day to 0, 4.6 or 37 mg/m3 aerosolized carbon black on gestation days 4-18, i.e. for a total of 15 days. Outcomes included maternal lung inflammation (differential cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and Saa3 mRNA expression in lung tissue), offspring neurohistopathology and behaviour in the open field test.ResultsCarbon black exposure did not cause lung inflammation in the exposed females, measured 11 or 28-29 days post-exposure. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression levels were dose-dependently increased in astrocytes around blood vessels in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in six weeks old offspring, indicative of reactive astrogliosis. Also enlarged lysosomal granules were observed in brain perivascular macrophages (PVMs) in the prenatally exposed offspring. The number of parvalbumin-positive interneurons and the expression levels of parvalbumin were decreased in the motor and prefrontal cortices at weaning and 120 days of age in the prenatally exposed offspring. In the open field test, behaviour was dose-dependently altered following maternal exposure to Printex 90, at 90 days of age. Prenatally exposed female offspring moved a longer total distance, and especially males spent significantly longer time in the central zone of the maze. In the offspring, the described effects were long-lasting as they were present at all time points investigated.ConclusionThe present study reports for the first time that maternal inhalation exposure to Printex 90 carbon black induced dose-dependent denaturation of PVM and reactive astrocytes, similarly to the findings observed following maternal exposure to Printex 90 by airway instillation. Of note, some of the observed effects have striking similarities with those observed in mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Project description:Exposure to nanomaterials (NM) during sensitive stages of development may predispose organisms to diseases later in life. However, direct translocation of NM from mother to fetus through the placenta is limited. The present study tests the hypothesis that pulmonary exposure to NM and NM-induced stress, such as inflammation during gestation, can lead to secondary effects in the growing fetus. Time mated C57BL/6BomTac mice were exposed by intratracheal instillation to vehicle (Milli Q water) or one of three concentrations (2.75, 13.5 or 67 µg/animal) of carbon black Printex 90 (CB) dispersions on gestational days 7, 10, 15 and 18 to a total final dose of 11, 54 or 268 µg/animal. Male and female newborns were sacrificed on day 2 after birth (PND2, 4 days after the last maternal exposure) and dams were sacrificed after weaning of offspring (26-27 days post-exposure). Histopathology, DNA microarrays, pathway-specific RT-PCR arrays, focussed RT-PCR, and tissue protein analysis were employed to characterize pulmonary response in dams exposed to CB during gestation. Gene expression profiles in newborn livers were interpreted in light of toxic effects of CB to dams indicated by gene expression profiles of dam lungs. Although retention of CB particles was observed in dams from both medium and high dose groups, neutrophil-marked inflammation was significant only in the high dose group dams. Inflammation in dams was accompanied by altered expression of several cytokines and chemokines both at the transcriptional and tissue protein levels. Analysis of newborn livers by DNA microarrays revealed that female offspring were much more sensitive to maternal stress than males. Cellular signalling, inflammation, immune response, cell cycle and lipid metabolism were among the biological pathways affected in female offspring. Males however, responded with subtle changes in genes involved in metabolism. At present, the implications of altered biological pathways in offspring in response to in utero exposure to particles are not well understood. Further investigation will be required to determine if there are long term consequences to offspring in terms of health and responses to environmental stresses.

Project description:Exposure to nanomaterials (NM) during sensitive stages of development may predispose organisms to diseases later in life. However, direct translocation of NM from mother to fetus through the placenta is limited. The present study tests the hypothesis that pulmonary exposure to NM and NM-induced stress, such as inflammation during gestation, can lead to secondary effects in the growing fetus. Time mated C57BL/6BomTac mice were exposed by intratracheal instillation to vehicle (Milli Q water) or one of three concentrations (2.75, 13.5 or 67 µg/animal) of carbon black Printex 90 (CB) dispersions on gestational days 7, 10, 15 and 18 to a total final dose of 11, 54 or 268 µg/animal. Male and female newborns were sacrificed on day 2 after birth (PND2, 4 days after the last maternal exposure) and dams were sacrificed after weaning of offspring (26-27 days post-exposure). Histopathology, DNA microarrays, pathway-specific RT-PCR arrays, focussed RT-PCR, and tissue protein analysis were employed to characterize pulmonary response in dams exposed to CB during gestation. Gene expression profiles in newborn livers were interpreted in light of toxic effects of CB to dams indicated by gene expression profiles of dam lungs. Although retention of CB particles was observed in dams from both medium and high dose groups, neutrophil-marked inflammation was significant only in the high dose group dams. Inflammation in dams was accompanied by altered expression of several cytokines and chemokines both at the transcriptional and tissue protein levels. Analysis of newborn livers by DNA microarrays revealed that female offspring were much more sensitive to maternal stress than males. Cellular signalling, inflammation, immune response, cell cycle and lipid metabolism were among the biological pathways affected in female offspring. Males however, responded with subtle changes in genes involved in metabolism. At present, the implications of altered biological pathways in offspring in response to in utero exposure to particles are not well understood. Further investigation will be required to determine if there are long term consequences to offspring in terms of health and responses to environmental stresses. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.

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Effects of maternal exposure to ultrafine carbon black on brain perivascular macrophages and surrounding astrocytes in offspring mice.

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Effects of maternal exposure to ultrafine carbon black on brain perivascular macrophages and surrounding astrocytes in offspring mice.

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