Table 4.
In vivo studies on immunological properties of NPs
| NPs | Time | Cell response | Cell frequency/activity | Dose range | Potential effect | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TiO2 | 1 -14 d | ↗ IFN-ɣ and IL-17 in spleen | ↗ Th17 and Th1 in spleen | 10 mg/kg bw/d | inflammation | [116] |
| ↗ DC frequency in PP | imbalance immune response | |||||
| ↙ Treg and T helper cells in PP | immunossuppression | |||||
|
↗ inflammatory cytokines in ileum (IL-12, IL-4, IL-23, TNF-α, IFN-γ) |
↗ T cells CD4+ in small intestin | 100 mg/kg bw/d | inflammation | [161] | ||
| 5 g/kg bw (single oral gavage) | no toxic effects | [165] | ||||
| > 28 d | ↗ TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-8 in colon | ↙ Treg and T helper cells in PP | 10 mg/kg bw/d | risk of preneoplasic lesions in colon | [116] | |
|
↗ IL-6, TNF-α, IL1-β in ovary (expression and production) |
↙ white cells and lymphocytes in blood | 2.5; 5; 10 mg/kg bw/d | inflammation and follicule atresia | [166] | ||
| fertility reduction | ||||||
| ↗ glucose in blood of young rats | ↗ mast cells activation in stomach | 10, 50, 200 mg/kg bw/d | alteration of gastrointestinal functions | [167] | ||
| Heart, Liver and Kidney injuries | ||||||
| SiO2 | 7 -14 d |
↙ inflammatory cytokines in blood (IL1-β, TNF-α, IL-12p70, IL-6 and IFN-ɣ) |
↙ Natural Killer acitivity in spleen | 750 mg/kg bw/d | immunossuppression | [168] |
| ↙ T cells and B cells proliferation in spleen | dysregulation of immune response | |||||
| ↙ Lymphocytes population in blood | ||||||
| ↗ IgG and IgE in blood | ↗ splenocyte proliferation | 0.1; 1; 10 mg/mouse/d | imbalance immune response (dose dependent) | [162] | ||
|
↗ inflammatory cytokines in spleen (INF-ɣ, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-17) |
risk of food allergy development | |||||
| ≥ 28 d | slight ↗ lymphocytes in blood | 2.5 mg/mouse/d | no effect | [169] | ||
| Ag | 7-14 d | ↗ TGF-β in blood |
↗ B and Natural Killer cells in blood ↗ T CD8+ population in blood |
1 mg/kg bw/d | imbalance immune response | [170] |
|
↗ IgG in blood, ↗ TGF-β and IFN-ɣ in spleen |
↗ splenocyte proliferation | 0.01; 0.1; 1; 10 mg/kg bw/d | imbalance immune response | [163] | ||
| ≥ 28 d |
↗ inflammatory cytokines in blood (IL1-β, IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12 and TGF-β) |
↗ T CD8+ population in blood | 0.25; 0.50; 1 mg/kg bw/d | inflammation | [170] | |
| ↗ IgE in blood | ↗ B cell in blood | risk of food allergy development | ||||
|
↙ gene expression in ileum (MUC3, TLR2, TLR4, FOXP3, IL-10, TGF-β) |
9 mg/kg bw/d | immunossuppression | [105] | |||
| sexual dimorphism response |
The relevant doses for humans are indicated in bold. DC dendritic cell, FOXP3 forkhead box P3, GPR43 G-protein coupled receptor 43, IFN-γ interferon-gamma, Ig immunoglobulin, IL interleukin, MUC3 mucin 3, NOD2 nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2, TGF-β transforming growth factor beta, Th T helper, TLR Toll-like receptor, TNF-α tumor necrosis factor alpha, Treg regulatory T-cell