Profiling of gene expression in lung tissue in C57Bl/6 and DBA/2 mouse strains following exposure to carbon nanotubes. Mus musculus

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are fibrous particulates made up of elemental carbon and a novel nanomaterial known for its variety of industrial applications. It has been shown that lung exposure to CNTs may cause adverse effects inclunding lung inflammation and remodeling in experimental models. We investigated the impact of genetic background on the development of adverse outcomes by comparing several common inbred mouse strains and found that C57Bl/6 and DBA/2 strains were polarized in their sensitivity to adverse changes at 4 weeks following an exposure to 4 mg/kg CNT. Here we compare underlying gene expression profiles which may inform the understanding of lung biology underpinning genetic susceptibility to adverse outcomes following environmental or occupational exposure to CNTs. Overall design: Changes in mRNA profiles were compared between CNT-exposed animals and vehicle-treated controls (n=3/group) of either C57Bl/6 or DBA/2 strains.

碳纳米管（Carbon nanotubes, CNTs）是由单质碳构成的纤维状颗粒，是一类具备多样工业应用前景的新型纳米材料。已有研究证实，在实验模型中，肺部暴露于碳纳米管（CNTs）可引发肺部炎症与组织重构等不良反应。本研究通过对比多种常用近交系小鼠品系，探究遗传背景对不良反应发生的影响，结果显示：暴露于4 mg/kg碳纳米管（CNTs）4周后，C57Bl/6与DBA/2品系小鼠对不良反应变化的敏感性呈现显著两极分化。本研究对潜在基因表达谱进行比较分析，以期为理解环境或职业暴露于碳纳米管（CNTs）后，遗传易感个体发生不良反应的肺部生物学机制提供参考依据。整体实验设计：分别以C57Bl/6和DBA/2品系小鼠为研究对象，对比碳纳米管暴露组与溶剂处理对照组的mRNA表达谱变化（每组n=3）。