Journal of Clinical Toxicology
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0495
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-0495
+44 1478 350008
Yiling Hong
Western University of Health Sciences, USA
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Clinic Toxicol
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used extensively as anti-microbial agents in various products, but little is known about their potential neurotoxic effects. In this study, we used glutamatergic neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells as a cellular model to study 20 nm citrate-coated AgNPs (AgSCs) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated AgNPs (AgSPs) induced neurotoxicity. AgSCs significantly damaged neurite outgrowths; increased the production of reactive oxygen species and Ca2+ influxes; reduced the expression of MAP2, PSD95, vGlut1 and NMDA receptor proteins at concentrations as low as 0.1�¼g/ml. In contrast, AgSPs exhibited neurotoxicity only at higher concentration. Furthermore, our results showed that AgSCs induced glutamate excitotoxicity by activation of calmodulin and induction of nitric oxide synthase; increased the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 �±/�² at Tyr216 and Tau at Ser396 and reduced the expression of Tau46, which are typically observed in Alzheimerâ��s disease. This study indicated that stem cells can provide an excellent platform for studying nanoparticle induced neurotoxicity.
Email: yhong@westernu.edu