Immunotoxicity assessment of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots in macrophages, lymphocytes and BALB/c mice

Abstract

BackgroundThe toxicity of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) in the environment and biological systems has become a major concern for the nanoparticle community. However, the potential toxicity of QDs on immune cells and its corresponding immune functions remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the immunotoxicity of CdSe/ZnS QDs using the in vitro in macrophages and lymphocytes and in vivo in BALB/c mice.ResultsOur results indicated that macrophages treated with 1.25 or 2.5 nM QDs exhibited decreased cell viability, increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), elevated apoptotic events, altered phagocytic ability, and decreased release of TNF-α and IL-6 by upon subsequent stimulation with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In contrast, lymphocytes exposed to QDs exhibited enhanced cell viability, increased release of TNF-α and IL-6 following exposure with CpG-ODN, and decreased transformation ability treatment in response to LPS. To study the in vivo effects in mice, we showed that QDs injection did not cause significant changes to body weight, hematology, organ histology, and phagocytic function of peritoneal macrophages in QDs-treated mice. In addition, the QDs formulation accumulated in major immune organs for more than 42 days. Lymphocytes from QDs-treated mice showed reduced cell viability, changed subtype proportions, increased TNF-α and IL-6 release, and reduced transformation ability in response to LPS.ConclusionsTaken together, these results suggested that exposures to CdSe/ZnS QDs could suppress immune-defense against foreign stimuli, which in turn could result in increased susceptibility of hosts to diseases.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12951-016-0162-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Reproductive Toxicity of CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots on the in vivo Ovarian Function and in vitro Fertilization

“…2b). The result showed that the QDs had no obvious effect on the organ indexes, which was consistent with our Immunotoxicity assessment study of CdSe/ZnS on BABL/c mice20. Since we wanted to study the reproductive toxicity of QDs for female mice, the organ index of ovary was recorded as well but no obvious difference was detected between the control and treated groups (Fig.…”

“…20 years2223. The accumulation of QDs were mainly found in reticuloendothelial system (RES) organs, such as liver and spleen2024.…”

Long Exposure to CdS-Dextrin Nanoparticles Induces an Immunomodulatory and Anti-Inflammatory Effect in Rats

“…For example, exposure to CdSe/ZnS QDs induced a decrease in the population of T lymphocytes and an increase in the population of B lymphocytes, but had no effect on the population of NK cells in mice exposed for 42 days [28]. On the other hand, Fu et al observed that titanium dioxide NPs (nano-TiO 2 ) induced proliferation of B and T lymphocytes after continued exposure for 4 weeks [29].…”

Toxicity assessment of nanoparticles in various systems and organs

“…Due to the complexity of the immune system, the toxicity assessment of NPs relies on overall changes of immune cytokines and molecules, immune organs, hematological system, etc. For instance, the generation and release of ILs and tumor necrosis factors are usually examined upon the use of NPs at high aspect ratio, some metal or certain cationic [97,98]. Histological changes of major immune organs (e.g.…”

“…Histological changes of major immune organs (e.g. spleen) are preferably observed by H&E dyeing [97,99].…”