Figure 1.

Acute lung exposure of male and female mice by oropharyngeal aspiration (OPA) to LPS, NiNPs, or LPS and NiNPs. A) Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of nickel nanoparticles used in this study (bar equals 100 nm). B) Illustration of experimental design. C57BL/6J mice were exposed to vehicle (0.1% Pluronic in DPBS), LPS (5 μg/kg), NiNPs (4 mg/kg), or LPS (5 μg/kg) and NiNPs (4 mg/kg) co-exposure via OPA delivery. Mice were euthanized and necropsy performed 24 hrs after the exposure. C) Protein concentration in BALF determined by Pierce BCA Protein Assay. D) Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in BALF measured using Pierce LDH Cytotoxicity Assay. (n=6 mice per group, ***P<0.001, ** P<0.01 or *P<0.05 compared to vehicle determined by one-way ANOVA, #P<0.05 between sexes as determined by two-way ANOVA).