Assessment of the neurotoxic effect of iron (III) oxide nanoparticles at the subcellular level

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Abstract

Introduction. Both naturally occurring and artificially produced nanoparticles are ubiquitous; their high concentrations can be detected in the environment, thus posing risks of toxic effects in humans. Penetrating the blood-brain barrier by metal nanoparticles has been already proven and is currently of interest from the point of view of toxicology and hygiene.

Materials and methods. Female rats were exposed to ferric oxide nanoparticles administered intranasally with a 25 mg/ml suspension at a dose of 50 µl three times a week during six weeks. The experimental and control groups contained seven animals each. Tissue samples for testing were taken from the olfactory bulbs of the rat’s brain. Iron (III) oxide nanoparticles were identified by electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The cytotoxic effect of ferric oxide nanoparticles was assessed by ranking mitochondria by mitochondrial membrane morphotypes and comparing their distribution in the experimental and control groups.

Results. We confirmed the presence of nanoparticles in tissues of the olfactory bulbs of the exposed rodents. The morphotype pattern of mitochondria showed significant changes following the exposure to ferric oxide nanoparticles: the proportion of mitochondria with normal and vesicular swollen morphotypes decreased by 36.4 and 4.9%, respectively, compared with the control group of animals, the proportion of mitochondria with normal vesicular and vesicular morphotypes increased by 19.8 and 21.8%, while the proportion of vesicular swollen mitochondria decreased from 9.5% to 4.6%.

Limitations. The study was limited to examining ultrastructural changes in mitochondria and identifying ferric oxide nanoparticles in tissues.

Conclusions. Further studies of the impact of iron-containing nanoparticles on the structure and functions of the mitochondrial apparatus can help to identify their potential harm at the subcellular level and provide information for the development of appropriate health protective measures and new strategies for prevention and treatment of metal toxicity-induced diseases in humans.

Compliance with ethical standards. The animals were kept in accordance with the International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals (CIOMS and ICLAS). The study approval was provided by the Local Ethics Committee of the Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers (Minutes No. 2 of April 20, 2020).

Contribution:
Sutunkova M.P., Minigalieva I.A. — study conception and design;
Shelomentsev I.G., Amromin L.A., Shaikhova D.R. — data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, literature review, draft manuscript preparation.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: February 21, 2023 / Accepted: June 7, 2023 / Published: August 30, 2023

About the authors

Ivan G. Shelomentsev

Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers of the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare

Author for correspondence.
Email: shelomencev@ymrc.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8795-8777

Researcher, Department of Molecular Biology and Electron Microscopy, Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers, Yekaterinburg, 620014, Russian Federation.

e-mail: shelomencev@ymrc.ru

Russian Federation

Lev A. Amromin

Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers of the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7703-5103
Russian Federation

Daria R. Shaikhova

Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers of the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7029-3406
Russian Federation

Marina P. Sutunkova

Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers of the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1743-7642
Russian Federation

Ilzira A. Minigalieva

Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers of the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1871-8593
Russian Federation

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Copyright (c) 2024 Shelomentsev I.G., Amromin L.A., Shaikhova D.R., Sutunkova M.P., Minigalieva I.A.


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