TiO2 nanoparticle-induced neurotoxicity may be involved in dysfunction of glutamate metabolism and its receptor expression in mice.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) have been used in environmental management, food, medicine, and industry. But TiO2 NPs have been demonstrated to cross the blood–brain barrier and store up in the brain organization, leading to glutamate-mediated neurotoxicity. However, the neurotoxicity in the brain is not well understood. In this study, mice were exposed to 1.25, 2.5, or 5 mg/kg body weight TiO2 NPs for 9 months, and the glutamate–glutamine cyclic pathway and expressions of glutamate receptors associated with the hippocampal neurotoxicity were investigated. Our findings showed elevations of glutamate release and phosphate-activated glutaminase activity, and reductions in glutamine and glutamine synthetase in the hippocampus following exposure to TiO2 NPs. Furthermore, TiO2 NPs significantly inhibited the expression of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor subunits (including NR1, NR2A, and NR2B) and metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 in mouse hippocampus. These findings suggest that the imbalance of glutamate metabolism triggered inhibitions of glutamate receptor expression in the TiO2 NP-exposed hippocampus. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2014.