The effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on neuroinflammation response in rat brain

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2016-10, Vol.23 (20), p.20205-20213
• Main Authors: Grissa, Intissar, Guezguez, Sabrine, Ezzi, Lobna, Chakroun, Sana, Sallem, Amira, Kerkeni, Emna, Elghoul, Jaber, El Mir, Lassaad, Mehdi, Meriem, Cheikh, Hassen ben, Haouas, Zohra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acetylcholinesterase; Animals; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; biocompatible materials; Biomaterials; Body weight; Brain; brain damage; Brain research; ceramics; cerebral cortex; Cerebral Cortex - drug effects; Cerebral Cortex - immunology; Chemokines; Cytokines; dose response; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug dosages; drugs; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental monitoring; Environmental science; Food dyes; immune response; Inflammation; interleukin-6; Interleukin-6 - blood; Interleukin-6 - secretion; intragastric administration; Laboratories; Male; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanoparticles - toxicity; Neurotoxicity; Neurotoxicity Syndromes - etiology; Neurotoxicity Syndromes - immunology; Opacity; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Research Article; Rodents; Studies; Titanium; Titanium - chemistry; Titanium - toxicity; Titanium dioxide; Toxicity; Traumatic brain injury; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-016-7234-8

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) are widely used for their whiteness and opacity in several applications such as food colorants, drug additives, biomedical ceramic, and implanted biomaterials. Research on the neurobiological response to orally administered TiO 2 NPs is still limited. In our study, we investigate the effects of anatase TiO 2 NPs on the brain of Wistar rats after oral intake. After daily intragastric administration of anatase TiO 2 NPs (5–10 nm) at 0, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight (BW) for 60 days, the coefficient of the brain, acethylcholinesterase (AChE) activities, the level of interleukin 6 (IL-6), and the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were assessed to quantify the brain damage. The results showed that high-dose anatase TiO 2 NPs could induce a downregulated level of AChE activities and showed an increase in plasmatic IL-6 level as compared to the control group accompanied by a dose-dependent decrease inter-doses, associated to an increase in the cerebral IL-6 level as a response to a local inflammation in brain. Furthermore, we observed elevated levels of immunoreactivity to GFAP in rat cerebral cortex. We concluded that oral intake of anatase TiO 2 NPs can induce neuroinflammation and could be neurotoxic and hazardous to health.