Next Article in Journal
Fabrication and Electrical Characterization of MgZnO/ZTO Thin-Film Transistors
Previous Article in Journal
Unveiling the Unique Reinforcement Mechanisms of Coiled Carbon Nanotubes and Their Hydrogenated Counterparts in Asphalt Modification
Previous Article in Special Issue
Nanotoxicity of Porous Silica Nanoparticles: Physicochemical Properties and Mechanistic Cellular Endpoints
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Nanomaterials
Volume 15
Issue 23
10.3390/nano15231806
nanomaterials-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Comparative Gene Expression Analysis of Malignant Mesothelioma and Lung Adenocarcinomas Induced by Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-7 and Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Rats: Distinct Molecular Signatures and Canonical Pathways

by
Min Gi
1,*,
Shugo Suzuki
2,
Dina Mourad Saleh
3,4,5,
Omnia Hosny Mohamed Ahmed
3,6,7,
William T. Alexander
3,
Masaki Fujioka
2,
Arpamas Vachiraarunwong
1,
Runjie Guo
1,
Guiyu Qiu
1,
Ikue Noura
2,
Anna Kakehashi
2,
Xiao-Li Xie
8,
Shuji Tsuruoka
9,
Akihiko Hirose
10,
Aya Naiki-Ito
7,
Hiroyuki Tsuda
3 and
Hideki Wanibuchi
1,2
1
Department of Environmental Risk Assessment, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
2
Department of Molecular Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
3
Nanotoxicology Project, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
4
Department of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
5
Center of Excellence for Toxicological Testing, Mammalian and Aquatic Toxicology Department, Central Agricultural Pesticides Lab, Agricultural Research Center, Dokki, Giza 12618, Egypt
6
Department of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan 81528, Egypt
7
Department of Experimental Pathology and Tumor Biology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan
8
Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
9
Neura Inc., Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
10
Chemicals Assessment and Research Center, Chemicals Evaluation and Research Institute, Tokyo 112-0004, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(23), 1806; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15231806 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 17 October 2025 / Revised: 17 November 2025 / Accepted: 28 November 2025 / Published: 29 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Toxicity of Carbon Nanotubes, Nanoparticles and Other Nanomaterials: 2nd Edition)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Although numerous experimental studies have demonstrated the carcinogenic potential of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in lungs, the underlying molecular mechanisms—especially gene expression changes associated with different tumor types—remain poorly characterized. To elucidate the molecular signatures associated with MWCNT-induced carcinogenesis, we performed microarray-based gene expression profiling of rat lung tumors induced by MWCNT-7, including both adenocarcinoma (ADC) and malignant mesothelioma (MM), as well as ADCs induced by two types of double-walled CNTs (DWCNTs) differing in fiber length (1.5 µm and 7 µm). Hierarchical clustering revealed that the MWCNT-7-induced MM exhibited a gene expression profile distinct from the ADCs. The ADCs induced by the DWCNTs and the ADC induced by MWCNT-7 shared several pathways that were distinct from those of the MWCNT-7 induced MM. The distinct pathways upregulated in the ADCs versus the MM support the conclusion that MWCNT-induced ADCs arise through distinct biological mechanisms compared to MWCNT-induced MMs and identified tumor-type-specific biomarker candidates: complement factor I (CFI) and secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) for ADCs, and fibronectin 1 (FN1) for MM. In addition, the gene expression profiles of the ADCs induced by the three fiber types indicate that both types of thin flexible DWCNTs used in the present study promoted a number of carcinogenic pathways in the rat lung that were also promoted by MWCNT-7, which is a class 2B carcinogen. These results support the conclusion that DWCNTs are carcinogenic in the rat lung and highlight the importance of further assessments of the potential lung carcinogenicity of inhaled thin flexible CNTs.
Keywords: 1.5 µm DWCNT; 7 µm DWCNT; MWCNT-7; lung adenocarcinoma; malignant mesothelioma; gene expression profiling 1.5 µm DWCNT; 7 µm DWCNT; MWCNT-7; lung adenocarcinoma; malignant mesothelioma; gene expression profiling

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Gi, M.; Suzuki, S.; Saleh, D.M.; Ahmed, O.H.M.; Alexander, W.T.; Fujioka, M.; Vachiraarunwong, A.; Guo, R.; Qiu, G.; Noura, I.; et al. Comparative Gene Expression Analysis of Malignant Mesothelioma and Lung Adenocarcinomas Induced by Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-7 and Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Rats: Distinct Molecular Signatures and Canonical Pathways. Nanomaterials 2025, 15, 1806. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15231806

AMA Style

Gi M, Suzuki S, Saleh DM, Ahmed OHM, Alexander WT, Fujioka M, Vachiraarunwong A, Guo R, Qiu G, Noura I, et al. Comparative Gene Expression Analysis of Malignant Mesothelioma and Lung Adenocarcinomas Induced by Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-7 and Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Rats: Distinct Molecular Signatures and Canonical Pathways. Nanomaterials. 2025; 15(23):1806. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15231806

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gi, Min, Shugo Suzuki, Dina Mourad Saleh, Omnia Hosny Mohamed Ahmed, William T. Alexander, Masaki Fujioka, Arpamas Vachiraarunwong, Runjie Guo, Guiyu Qiu, Ikue Noura, and et al. 2025. "Comparative Gene Expression Analysis of Malignant Mesothelioma and Lung Adenocarcinomas Induced by Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-7 and Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Rats: Distinct Molecular Signatures and Canonical Pathways" Nanomaterials 15, no. 23: 1806. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15231806

APA Style

Gi, M., Suzuki, S., Saleh, D. M., Ahmed, O. H. M., Alexander, W. T., Fujioka, M., Vachiraarunwong, A., Guo, R., Qiu, G., Noura, I., Kakehashi, A., Xie, X.-L., Tsuruoka, S., Hirose, A., Naiki-Ito, A., Tsuda, H., & Wanibuchi, H. (2025). Comparative Gene Expression Analysis of Malignant Mesothelioma and Lung Adenocarcinomas Induced by Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-7 and Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Rats: Distinct Molecular Signatures and Canonical Pathways. Nanomaterials, 15(23), 1806. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15231806

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop