Inhaled gold nanoparticles cause cerebral edema and upregulate endothelial aquaporin 1 expression, involving caveolin 1 dependent repression of extracellular regulated protein kinase activity

Background Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) have extensive applications in electronics and biomedicine, resulting in increased exposure and prompting safety concerns for human health. After absorption, nanoparticles enter circulation and effect endothelial cells. We previously showed that exposure to Au-NPs (40–50 nm) collapsed endothelial tight junctions and increased their paracellular permeability. Inhaled nanoparticles have gained significant attention due to their biodistribution in the brain; however, little is known regarding their role in cerebral edema. The present study investigated the expression of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) in the cerebral endothelial cell line, bEnd.3, stimulated by Au-NPs.