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It is increasingly important to understand the single-walled carbon nanotubes' (SWCNTs) immune response as their increasingly biomedical researches and applications. Macrophages and T cells play important roles in scavenging foreign materials and pathogens and regulating immune response. In this work, primarily cultured murine peritoneal macrophages and purified splenic T cells were utilised to determine the toxic effects of SWCNTs and acid-functionalised SWCNTs (AF-SWCNTs) on the immune system, especially on macrophage functions. Macrophages were exposed to 0-50 μg/ml of CNTs for 24 h and no significant cytotoxicity was found by live/dead and annexin-V-FITC/PI analyses. The TEM images revealed that AF-SWCNTs were engulfed mostly through phagocytosis and located in lysosomes of macrophages. Measurement of mitochondrial membrane potential and proteasome subunit gene expression demonstrated that 10 and 50 μg/ml AF-SWCNTs could damage mitochondrial function and proteasome formation in a concentration-dependent manner. Functional analyses revealed that the percentage of phagocytic cells were affected significantly by 20 μg/ml CNTs, and 5 μg/ml AF-SWCNTs inhibited the phagocytic efficiency of latex beads in macrophages. The accessory cell function was affected by both AF-SWCNTs and SWCNTs at concentrations of 10 and 50 μg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, AF-SWCNT biased naïve T-cell differentiation to Th1 type by inducing the production of IFN-γ and TNF, implying the potential risk of Th1-associated diseases (e.g. autoimmune diseases and inflammation) on AF-SWCNT exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are widely used in industrial and medical sectors, and the increasing exposure of SWCNTs necessitates the studies of their potential environmental and health effects. Considerable efforts have been made to improve the dispersion of SWCNTs by chemical modifications. However, the toxicological effects of such modifications on SWCNTs are mostly unknown. This study was designed to determine the influences of acid functionalization on SWCNT toxicity and to understand the molecular toxic mechanisms. RAW264.7 cells were exposed to 0-50 μg/mL of as-synthesized SWCNTs or acid-functionalized SWCNTs (AF-SWCNTs) for 24 hours and then their toxicities were compared via viability analysis. After that the global gene expression profiles of cells exposed to AF-SWCNTs were obtained and analyzed. The results showed that AF-SWCNTs penetrated cell membrane and aggregated in cell cytoplasm and nuclear areas, resulting in enhanced toxicity. In addition, AF-SWCNTs altered the expression of genes related to ribosome, mitochondria, inflammatory response, cell cycle/apoptosis, and proteasome pathway. The gene expression study excluded the interference of metallic impurities and suggested similar toxic mechanism to that of ultra-fine particulate matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]