Phagocytosis-dependent and independent mechanisms underlie the microglial cell damage caused by carbon nanotube agglomerates.

Although carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used in many fields, including energy, healthcare, environmental technology, materials, and electronics, the adverse effects of CNTs in the brain are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of CNTs on cultured microglia, as microglia are the first responders to foreign materials. We compared the effects of sonicated suspensions of 5 kinds of CNTs and their flow-through filtered with a 0.22 µm membrane filter on microglial viability. We found that sonicated suspensions caused microglial cell damage, but their flow-through did not. The number of microglial aggregates was well correlated with the extent of the damage. We also determined that the CNT agglomerates consisted of two groups: one was phagocytosed by microglia and caused microglial cell damage, and the other caused cell damage without phagocytosis. These results suggest that phagocytosis-dependent and independent mechanisms underlie the microglial cell damage caused by CNT agglomerates and it is important to conduct studies about the relationships between physical properties of nanomaterial-agglomerates and cell damage.