Assessment of Carbon Nanotubes on Barrier Function, Ciliary Beating Frequency and Cytokine Release in In Vitro Models of the Respiratory Tract

Abstract

The exposure to inhaled carbon nanotubes (CNT) may have adverse effects on workers upon chronic exposure. In order to assess the toxicity of inhaled nanoparticles in a physiologically relevant manner, an air–liquid interface culture of mono and cocultures of respiratory cells and assessment in reconstructed bronchial and alveolar tissues was used. The effect of CNT4003 reference particles applied in simulated lung fluid was studied in bronchial (Calu-3 cells, EpiAirway™ and MucilAir™ tissues) and alveolar (A549 +/−THP-1 and EpiAlveolar™ +/−THP-1) models. Cytotoxicity, transepithelial electrical resistance, interleukin 6 and 8 secretion, mucociliary clearance and ciliary beating frequency were used as readout parameters. With the exception of increased secretion of interleukin 6 in the EpiAlveolar™ tissues, no adverse effects of CNT4003 particles, applied at doses corresponding to the maximum estimated lifetime exposure of workers, in the bronchial and alveolar models were noted, suggesting no marked differences between the models. Since the doses for whole-life exposure were applied over a shorter time, it is not clear if the interleukin 6 increase in the EpiAlveolar™ tissues has physiological relevance.

A Novel Bionebulizer Approach to Study the Effects of Natural Mineral Water on a 3D In Vitro Nasal Model from Allergic Rhinitis Patients

“…Notably, these studies have not utilized a 3D nasal epithelium model for examining the effects of thermal water nebulization. Conversely, the 3D nasal epithelium model has been employed in numerous studies to investigate the exposure and nebulization of various compounds, including nanoparticles [56][57][58][59][60][61], pollens [62], pollutants [57,63,64], pharmaceutical compounds [65,66], and viral infections [67,68]. However, in these studies, the compounds were either added to the culture medium or applied to the apical side in the form of a solid aerosol, or liquid solution [69,70].…”