Figure 7.

Amorphous SiNP induce upregulation of gene expression of inflammatory mediators by NF-κB activation in primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Upregulation of gene expression of ICAM1, VCAM1, SELE, F3, and IL8 derived from exposure of cells to 10SiNP (10 μg/mL) was significantly lower in the present of lactacystin 1 μM indicating that NF-κB was involved in their expression. Expression of each gene, within each sample, was normalized against 18S rRNA expression and expressed relative to the control sample using the formula 2^−(ΔΔCt).

Notes: Two-tailed Student’s t-test: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 compared with controls in the presence of SiNP but in the absence of lactacystin. Filled bars correspond to cells which were not exposed to nanoparticles (control) and open bars to cells exposed to nanoparticles in the present (1 μM) or absence (0) of lactacystin.

Abbreviations: SiNP, silica nanoparticles; ICAM1, intercellular adhesion molecule 1; VCAM1, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1; SELE, selectin E; MMP9, matrix metalloproteinase 9; IL6, interleukin-6; IL8, interleukin-8; COX, cyclooxygenase; F3, tissue factor.