137 research outputs found
Influence of carbon nanotube length on toxicity to zebrafish embryos
No full textJinping Cheng,1,2 Shuk Han Cheng11Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; 2State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, ChinaAbstract: There is currently a large difference of opinion in nanotoxicology studies of nanomaterials. There is concern about why some studies have indicated that there is strong toxicity, while others have not. In this study, the length of carbon nanotubes greatly affected their toxicity in zebrafish embryos. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were sonicated in a nitric acid solution for 24 hours and 48 hours. The modified MWCNTs were tested in early developing zebrafish embryo. MWCNTs prepared with the longer sonication time resulted in severe developmental toxicity; however, the shorter sonication time did not induce any obvious toxicity in the tested developing zebrafish embryos. The cellular and molecular changes of the affected zebrafish embryos were studied and the observed phenotypes scored. This study suggests that length plays an important role in the in vivo toxicity of functionalized CNTs. This study will help in furthering the understanding on current differences in toxicity studies of nanomaterials.Keywords: length, carbon nanotubes, sonication, developmental toxicity, zebrafis
Measurement of BCG-induced immunity to mycobateria in peripheral blood cells of children in Britain and South India
No full textOpen Acces
Influence of carbon nanotube length on toxicity to zebrafish embryos
No full textThere is currently a large difference of opinion in nanotoxicology studies of nanomaterials. There is concern about why some studies have indicated that there is strong toxicity, while others have not. In this study, the length of carbon nanotubes greatly affected their toxicity in zebrafish embryos. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were sonicated in a nitric acid solution for 24 hours and 48 hours. The modified MWCNTs were tested in early developing zebrafish embryo. MWCNTs prepared with the longer sonication time resulted in severe developmental toxicity; however, the shorter sonication time did not induce any obvious toxicity in the tested developing zebrafish embryos. The cellular and molecular changes of the affected zebrafish embryos were studied and the observed phenotypes scored. This study suggests that length plays an important role in the in vivo toxicity of functionalized CNTs. This study will help in furthering the understanding on current differences in toxicity studies of nanomaterials.</p
Effect of carbon nanotubes on developing zebrafish (Danio Rerior) embryos
No full textThe impact of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the aquatic environment was investigated by examining the properties of raw CNTs under several environmental conditions and using developing zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. The agglomerate size for single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) was significantly larger at pH 11 or greater and was stable at temperatures from 4 to 40C and salinities from 0 to 30 ppt. Exposure to SWCNTs induced a significant hatching delay in zebrafish embryos between 52 to 72 h postfertilization (hpf ) at concentrations of greater than 120 mg/L, but 99% of the exposed embryos hatched by 75 hpf. Doublewalled CNTs also induced a hatching delay at concentrations of greater than 240 mg/L, but carbon black did not affect hatching at the concentrations tested. Molecular and cellular analysis showed that the embryonic development of the exposed embryos up to 96 hpf was not affected at SWCNT concentrations of up to 360 mg/L. Scanning-electron microscopic inspection showed that the size of the pores on the embryo chorion was nanoscaled and that the size of SWCNT agglomerates was microscaled or larger, indicating that the chorion of zebrafish embryos was an effective protective barrier to SWCNT agglomerates. The hatching delay observed in this study likely was induced by the Co and Ni catalysts used in the production of SWCNTs that remained at trace concentrations after purification. This study suggests that materials associated with raw SWCNTs (perhaps metal contaminants) have the potential to affect aquatic life when released into the aquatic environment
Nanotherapeutics in angiogenesis : synthesis and in vivo assessment of drug efficacy and biocompatibility in zebrafish embryos
No full textAuthor name used in this publication: Wong, Wing-Tak.Version of RecordPublishedVoR allowe
Illuminating the dark depths inside coral.
No full textThe ability to observe in situ 3D distribution and dynamics of endosymbionts in corals is crucial for gaining a mechanistic understanding of coral bleaching and reef degradation. Here, we report the development of a tissue clearing (TC) coupled with light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) method for 3D imaging of the coral holobiont at single-cell resolution. The initial applications have demonstrated the ability of this technique to provide high spatial resolution quantitative information of endosymbiont abundance and distribution within corals. With specific fluorescent probes or assays, TC-LSFM also revealed spatial distribution and dynamics of physiological conditions (such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, and hypoxia response) in both corals and their endosymbionts. This tool is highly promising for in situ and in-depth data acquisition to illuminate coral symbiosis and health conditions in the changing marine environment, providing fundamental information for coral reef conservation and restoration
Molecular Characterisation of Three Murine HOX11‐Related Homeobox Genes, Tlx‐1, −2, and −3, and Restricted Expression of Tlx‐1 during Embryogenesis: murine/homeobox/cloning/motif/expression
No full textElevated expression of the human homeobox gene HOX11 has been implicated in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We report here the isolation and characterisation of three murine genes, Tlx‐1, −2, and −3, which are related to HOX11 and constitute a new class of homeobox genes. Sequence analysis indicates that Tlx‐1 is a murine homolog of HOX11. The expression during development of Tlx‐1 was studied by in situ hybridization. Tlx‐1 expression was found in the first branchial arch, the pancreas, the hindbrain and the epidermis of the ear of the developing embryos. Localized expression of Tlx‐1 in these developing structures suggests that it might play a specific role during post‐implantation development and its aberrant expression might be involved in oncogenesis. The homeodomains of Tlx‐2 and −3 are found to be 75% and 80% identical to that of Tlx‐1, respectively. In addition to the homeodomain, the three Tlx proteins also share four conserved motifs (TH1–TH4). Interestingly, these motifs are also found in other developmental control genes and transcription factors, suggesting a functional role in transcriptional regulation. Copyright © 1993, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reservedlink_to_OA_fulltex
Probing cell biophysical behavior based on actin cytoskeleton modeling and stretching manipulation with optical tweezers
No full textThis letter presents an approach to utilizing the actin cytoskeleton model and optical tweezers technology to probe the distinct underlying F-actin remodeling mechanism and showing quantitatively how cell mechanical behavior is associated with alterations in the cell functions. The structural parameters of F-actin were extracted by fitting the modeling results with the experimental results obtained by cell stretching manipulation. Alterations of cell mechanical behaviors under distinct diseased cellular stages were further interpreted. Jurkat and K562 cells were used as sample cells. This letter successfully illustrates the correlation of the cell mechanical behavior and cell functional alterations in a quantitative way.</p
Noninvasive technique for measurement of heartbeat regularity in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos
No full textAbstract Background Zebrafish (Danio rerio), due to its optical accessibility and similarity to human, has emerged as model organism for cardiac research. Although various methods have been developed to assess cardiac functions in zebrafish embryos, there lacks a method to assess heartbeat regularity in blood vessels. Heartbeat regularity is an important parameter for cardiac function and is associated with cardiotoxicity in human being. Using stereomicroscope and digital video camera, we have developed a simple, noninvasive method to measure the heart rate and heartbeat regularity in peripheral blood vessels. Anesthetized embryos were mounted laterally in agarose on a slide and the caudal blood circulation of zebrafish embryo was video-recorded under stereomicroscope and the data was analyzed by custom-made software. The heart rate was determined by digital motion analysis and power spectral analysis through extraction of frequency characteristics of the cardiac rhythm. The heartbeat regularity, defined as the rhythmicity index, was determined by short-time Fourier Transform analysis. Results The heart rate measured by this noninvasive method in zebrafish embryos at 52 hour post-fertilization was similar to that determined by direct visual counting of ventricle beating (p > 0.05). In addition, the method was validated by a known cardiotoxic drug, terfenadine, which affects heartbeat regularity in humans and induces bradycardia and atrioventricular blockage in zebrafish. A significant decrease in heart rate was found by our method in treated embryos (p p Conclusion The data support and validate this rapid, simple, noninvasive method, which includes video image analysis and frequency analysis. This method is capable of measuring the heart rate and heartbeat regularity simultaneously via the analysis of caudal blood flow in zebrafish embryos. With the advantages of rapid sample preparation procedures, automatic image analysis and data analysis, this method can potentially be applied to cardiotoxicity screening assay.</p
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