Metabolic Characteristics in Serum of Rats Intratracheally Instilled with Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT)

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were widely used in the field of electronics, aviation, biology, and medicine. Its underlying effects on human health cannot be ignored. Compared to standard inspection methods, metabonomics is a way that allows metabolic changes associated with the presence of a potential pathological process to be investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the metabolic characteristics of serum constituents of rats exposed to a single MWCNT intratracheal instillation at low (0.5 mg/kg), intermediate (5 mg/kg), or high dose (50 mg/kg) using H-1-NMR on the first and seventh day after exposure, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the biomarkers of the effect of MWCNT. Histopathological and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination of various tissues were also performed. We found that MWCNT exposure caused a significant elevation in the levels of glucose, creatine, HB, TMAO and LDL, but decrease in the levels of lactate and alanine in serum. The results showed that MWCNT caused widespread metabolic changes involved in energy metabolism. TEM analysis demonstrated pathological damage in the lung, spleen, and kidneys. The results indicated that disturbances in energy metabolism might be associated with damage in target organs and that metabonomics may be utilized as potential biomarkers of adverse MWCNT effects.