Gene expression profiles in rat alveolar macrophages exposure to cellulose nanofibrils, microcrystalline cellulose, and lipopolysaccharide.

To assess the biological impact of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) at the transcriptional level, we conducted whole-genome microarray analyses on rat alveolar macrophages (NR8383) exposed to CNFs with varying physicochemical properties. The findings were compared with those from exposure to microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Rat alveolar macrophages (NR8383) were exposed to six types of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs: CNF1, CNF2, CNF3, CNF4, CNF5, and CNF6) at a concentration of 100 µg/mL, as well as MCC and LPS at concentrations of 100 µg/mL and 10 ng/mL, respectively, for 24 hours. The experiments included a vehicle control group (n=4). Cyanine-3-labeled cRNA, generated from NR8383 exposed to CNFs, MCC, and LPS was hybridized to a Whole Rat Genome Microarray. Subsequently, the scanned images of the hybridized microarray slides were subjected to numerical analysis to assess the transcriptional-level biological effects of CNFs on NR8383, compared with those from exposure to MCC and LPS.