Journal
CHEMOSPHERE
Volume 251, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126440
Keywords
Carbon dots; ROS; Autophagy; Apoptosis; Liver toxicity
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81673218]
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [2242019K40223]
- National College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program [201810286142]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Carbon dots (CDs) are an emerging fluorescent nano-imaging probe due to their unique characteristics, such as good conductivity, carbon-based chemical composition, and photochemical stability, which sets up the potential of outperforming the classic metal-based quantum dots (QDs). It is a timely effort to proactively investigate the biocompatibility feature of CDs with a view to safely utilize this emerging nanomaterial in biological systems. In this study, we assessed the safety profile of an in-house synthesized CDs in hepatocyte-like Hepa 1-6 cells, which represents an important target organ for CDs exposure through either particle uptake and/or accumulation and elimination from primary exposure sites post particle administration. We not only demonstrated a dose- and time-dependent compromised cell viability, but also observed the induction of autophagy at high concentration (i.e. 400 mu g mL-1), authenticated by the conversion of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)-I to LC3-II. We attributed these changes as the protective mechanism by which the cells used to compensate for CDs-induced apoptosis and cytotoxicity. The involvement of autophagy was further confirmed because the cytotoxicity profile can be increased or reduced by the use of 3-MA (autophagy inhibitor) and NAC (ROS inhibitor), respectively. Collectively, our findings revealed dose-dependent moderate cytotoxicity in Hepa 1-6 cells. Mechanistic understanding of autophagy during the cellular process revealed the homeostasis when liver cells deal with CDs as an external insult. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available