Fig. 3.

AgNPs disrupted mitochondrial morphology and function in HT22 cells. (A–C) Alterations of mitochondrial morphology (A), mitochondrial number (B), mitochondrial AR and FF parameter (C) in HT22 cells, after AgNPs (8 μg/mL) or AgNO₃ (0.6 μg/mL) exposure for 24 h, the red arrow indicates mitochondrial fission and fragmentation, the yellow arrow indicates mitochondrial fusion; (D) Alterations of mitochondrial structure and Mitotracker fluorescence in HT22 cells, after AgNPs (8 μg/mL) exposure for 24 h; (E–F) Intracellular ROS levels, (G–H) MMP changes, (I) ATP content in HT22 cells, after AgNPs (0–8 μg/mL) exposure for 24 h. AR: aspect ratio (ratio between major and minor axes of an ellipse); FF: form factor (perimeter²/4π∙area; degree of branching). Data are expressed as mean ± SD from three independent experiments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 when compared with the control. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)