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Predicting pulmonary fibrosis in humans after exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)

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Abstract

The increased production and use of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in a diverse array of consumer, medical, and industrial applications have raised concerns about potential human exposure to these materials in the workplace and ambient environments. Inhalation is a primary route of exposure to MWCNTs, and the existing data indicate that they are potentially hazardous to human health. While a 90-day rodent inhalation test (e.g., OECD Test No. 413: subchronic inhalation toxicity: 90-day study or EPA Health Effects Test Guidelines OPPTS 870.3465 90-day inhalation toxicity) is recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics for MWCNTs (and other CNTs) if they are to be commercially produced (Godwin et al. in ACS Nano 9:3409–3417, 2015), this test is time and cost-intensive and subject to scientific and ethical concerns. As a result, there has been much interest in transitioning away from studies on animals and moving toward human-based in vitro and in silico models. However, given the multiple mechanisms of toxicity associated with subchronic exposure to inhaled MWCNTs, a battery of non-animal tests will likely be needed to evaluate the key endpoints assessed by the 90-day rodent study. Pulmonary fibrosis is an important adverse outcome related to inhalation exposure to MWCNTs and one that the non-animal approach should be able to assess. This review summarizes the state-of-the-science regarding in vivo and in vitro toxicological methods for predicting MWCNT-induced pulmonary fibrosis.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the authors for their contribution toward this review.

Funding

Integrated Laboratory Systems, Inc., staff provided technical support for National Toxicology Program (NTP) Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods under National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) contract HHSN27320140003C and HHSN273201500010C, but do not represent NIEHS, NTP, or the official positions of any Federal agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PETA International Science Consortium Ltd., London, UK

    Monita Sharma & Amy J. Clippinger

  2. Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada

    Jake Nikota & Sabina Halappanavar

  3. School of Pharmacy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Vincent Castranova

  4. Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland

    Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser

Authors
  1. Monita Sharma
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  2. Jake Nikota
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  3. Sabina Halappanavar
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  4. Vincent Castranova
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  5. Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser
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  6. Amy J. Clippinger
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Correspondence to Amy J. Clippinger.

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Sharma, M., Nikota, J., Halappanavar, S. et al. Predicting pulmonary fibrosis in humans after exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Arch Toxicol 90, 1605–1622 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1742-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1742-7

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