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Nano Copper Induces Apoptosis in PK-15 Cells via a Mitochondria-Mediated Pathway

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Abstract

Nano-sized copper particles are widely used in various chemical, physical, and biological fields. However, earlier studies have shown that nano copper particles (40–100 μg/mL) can induce cell toxicity and apoptosis. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the role of nano copper in mitochondrion-mediated apoptosis in PK-15 cells. The cells were treated with different doses of nano copper (20, 40, 60, and 80 μg/mL) to determine the effects of apoptosis using acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) fluorescence staining and a flow cytometry assay. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the PK-15 cells were examined using commercially available kits. Moreover, the mRNA levels of the Bax, Bid, Caspase-3, and CYCS genes were assessed by real-time PCR. The results revealed that nano copper exposure induced apoptosis and changed the mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, nano copper significantly altered the levels of the Bax, Bid, Caspase-3, and CYCS genes at a concentration of 40 μg/mL. To summarize, nano copper significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the level of SOD and increased the level of MDA in PK-15 cells. Altogether, these results suggest that nano copper can play an important role in inducing the apoptotic pathway in PK-15 cells, which may be the mechanism by which nano copper induces nephrotoxicity.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2014CFB244) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Program No. 2011PYO78).

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  1. Hui Zhang and Zhenyu Chang made equal contributions to this article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People’s Republic of China

    Hui Zhang, Zhenyu Chang, Khalid Mehmood, Fazul Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Xiaoxing Wu, Xinxin Tian, Xiaodan Yuan, Zhaoyang Li & Donghai Zhou

  2. University College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

    Khalid Mehmood

  3. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan

    Rao Zahid Abbas

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  1. Hui Zhang
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  11. Donghai Zhou
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Contributions

ZY Chang, ZY Li, H Zhang, and DH Zhou conceived and designed the experiments; H Zhang, MU Rehman, M Khalid, F Nabi, XX Wu, XX Tian, and XD Yuan contributed reagents, materials, and analysis tools; and H Zhang, MU Rehman, ZY Chang, and RZ Abbas wrote the manuscript and handle the manuscript revisions.

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Correspondence to Donghai Zhou.

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Zhang, H., Chang, Z., Mehmood, K. et al. Nano Copper Induces Apoptosis in PK-15 Cells via a Mitochondria-Mediated Pathway. Biol Trace Elem Res 181, 62–70 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-017-1024-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-017-1024-0

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