Bioaccumulation of ytterbium oxide nanoparticles insinuate oxidative stress, inflammatory, and pathological lesions in ICR mice

Adeel, Muhammad; Tingting, Jin; Hussain, Tariq; He, Xiao; Ahmad, Muhammad Arslan; Irshad, Muhammad Kashif; Shakoor, Noman; Zhang, Peng; Changjian, Xie; Hao, Yi; Zhiyong, Zhang; Javed, Rabia; Rui, Yukui

Bioaccumulation of ytterbium oxide nanoparticles insinuate oxidative stress, inflammatory, and pathological lesions in ICR mice

2020

With the rapid development in nanoscience and nanotechnology, rare earth oxide nanomaterials (REO-NMs) have been increasingly used due to their unique physical and chemical characteristics. Despite the increasing applications of REO NPs, scarce information is available on their detrimental effects. In the current study, we investigate the toxic effect of ytterbium oxide nanoparticles (Yb₂O₃ NPs) in mouse model by using various techniques including inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis over 30 days of exposure. Furthermore, we elucidated lung lavage fluid of mice for biochemical and cytological analysis, and lung tissues for histopathology to interpret the NP side effects. We observed a significant concentration of Yb₂O₃ NPs accumulated in the lung, liver, kidney, and heart tissues. Similarly, increased bioaccumulation of Yb content was found in the olfactory bulb compared to other reigns of brain. The cytological analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) revealed a significant elevation in the percentage of neutrophils and lymphocytes. Biochemical analysis showed an instilled Yb₂O₃ NPs, showing signs of oxidative damage through up-regulation of 60–87% of MDA while down-regulation of 20–40% of GSH-PX and GSH content. The toxicity pattern was more evident from histopathological observations. These interpretations provide enough evidence of bioaccumulation of Yb₂O₃ NPs in mice tissues. Overall, our findings reveal that acute exposure of Yb₂O₃ NPs through intranasal inhalation may cause toxicity via oxidative stress, which leads to a chronic inflammatory response. Graphical abstract Graphical illustrations of experimental findings.

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