Reactive oxygen species damage drives cardiac and mitochondrial dysfunction following acute nano-titanium dioxide inhalation exposure

• Published in: Nanotoxicology Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 32 - 48
• Main Authors: Nichols, Cody E., Shepherd, Danielle L., Hathaway, Quincy A., Durr, Andrya J., Thapa, Dharendra, Abukabda, Alaeddin, Yi, Jinghai, Nurkiewicz, Timothy R., Hollander, John M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01-02-2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Administration, Inhalation; Animals; antioxidant; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - pharmacology; cardiac function; Cosmetics; Diastole; Drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Electron transport; Exposure; Glutathione; Glutathione peroxidase; Glutathione Peroxidase - genetics; Heart - drug effects; Heart - physiopathology; Heart diseases; Inhalation; Innovations; Lipid membranes; Male; Membranes; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Mitochondria; Mitochondria - drug effects; Mitochondria - metabolism; Mitochondria - pathology; Muscle contraction; Nanomaterials; Nanostructures - administration & dosage; Nanostructures - toxicity; Nanotechnology; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Peroxidase; Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase; Phospholipids; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Respiration; Respiratory function; Rodents; Titanium; Titanium - administration & dosage; Titanium - toxicity; Titanium dioxide; Transgenic mice; titanium dioxide; Mitochondria; antioxidant; cardiac function; reactive oxygen species
• ISSN: 1743-5390; 1743-5404
• DOI: 10.1080/17435390.2017.1416202

Nanotechnology offers innovation in products from cosmetics to drug delivery, leading to increased engineered nanomaterial (ENM) exposure. Unfortunately, health impacts of ENM are not fully realized. Titanium dioxide (TiO
2
) is among the most widely produced ENM due to its use in numerous applications. Extrapulmonary effects following pulmonary exposure have been identified and may involve reactive oxygen species (ROS). The goal of this study was to determine the extent of ROS involvement on cardiac function and the mitochondrion following nano-TiO
2
exposure. To address this question, we utilized a transgenic mouse model with overexpression of a novel mitochondrially-targeted antioxidant enzyme (phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase; mPHGPx) which provides protection against oxidative stress to lipid membranes. MPHGPx mice and littermate controls were exposed to nano-TiO
2
aerosols (Evonik, P25) to provide a calculated pulmonary deposition of 11 µg/mouse. Twenty-four hours following exposure, we observed diastolic dysfunction as evidenced by E/A ratios greater than 2 and increased radial strain during diastole in wild-type mice (p < 0.05 for both), indicative of restrictive filling. Overexpression of mPHGPx mitigated the contractile deficits resulting from nano-TiO
2
exposure. To investigate the cellular mechanisms associated with the observed cardiac dysfunction, we focused our attention on the mitochondrion. We observed a significant increase in ROS production (p < 0.05) and decreased mitochondrial respiratory function (p < 0.05) following nano-TiO
2
exposure which were attenuated in mPHGPx transgenic mice. In summary, nano-TiO
2
inhalation exposure is associated with cardiac diastolic dysfunction and mitochondrial functional alterations, which can be mitigated by the overexpression of mPHGPx, suggesting ROS contribution in the development of contractile and bioenergetic dysfunction.