MuItiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Induced Hypotension by Regulating the Central Nervous System

摘要

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Normal blood pressure is very important for overall well-being and unexpected decrease in blood pressure may cause many detrimental consequences. The attractive properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) entice their usage in many cutting edge brain-specific therapies. However, the effects of MWCNTs to the central nervous system are not fully understood. In this work, the authors report that carbon nanotubes can significantly cause blood pressure to fall down when introduced into the brain at very low dosage. It is found that MWCNTs induce increased expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase in the medulla cardiovascular center, which consequently attenuate sympathetic nerve activity and cause decrease in blood pressure and heart rate. In addition, MWCNTs promote acetylation and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-B in brain cells. This work illustrates how CNTs can potentially change blood pressure by interrupting the central nervous system and is significant to the biomedical applications of CNTs.