, Carlsbad, CA, USA) and Oligo(dT) primer. Primer sequences, generated using GenBank searches with BLASTN, were used to generate PCR products using Taq DNA polymerase (TaKaRa Ex Taq™ Takara Bio Inc., Kyoto, Japan) and an iCycler thermocycler (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hercules, CA, USA). Pilot studies were performed to determine the optimal annealing temperature and to confirm a linear correlation between the number of PCR cycles and the densitometric intensity of amplicons. Samples were analyzed for genomic

DNA contamination by PCR analysis of total RNA. PCR products were size-separated by electrophoresis on 2% agarose gel, NCT-501 mw visualized by ethidium bromide staining under UV light, and analyzed by scanning densitometry. Results were expressed as density of transgelin 2 in relation to β-actin, an internal control, expression within the same sample. Western blotting Western blot detection of transgelin 2 and the internal control β-actin, was performed using standard protocols. In detail, lung tissue specimens from all subjects

were homogenized to obtain protein extracts. The protein lysate was added to one-third volume of the SDS preparation buffer (NuPAGE 4× LDS Sample Buffer, Invitrogen Corp.). These protein samples (50 μg) were separated by 12.5% SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The proteins were then transferred electrophoretically to nitrocellulose membranes, which were incubated with a GM6001 solubility dmso mouse anti-transgelin 2 monoclonal antibody (Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc., Santa Cruz, CA, USA). After secondary antibody application, immunodetection was performed by enhanced chemiluminescence on X-ray films (Fuji films). The mouse

anti-actin antibody (MAB 1501, Chemicon, Temecula, CA, USA) was used to normalize transgelin before 2 expression. Films were scanned and the protein lanes were quantified using Photoshop CS2 image analysis software (Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, CA, USA). Results Characteristics of the three nanomaterials The size and shape of nanoparticles were summarized in Figure  1 (1-1). Our characterizations indicated that SiO2 nanoparticles exhibited a crystal structure with an average size of 20.2 nm (Figure  1 (1-1A)), that Fe3O4 nanoparticles had a sphere shape with an average size of 40 nm (Figure  1 (1-1B)), and that CNTs were rope-shaped with lengths <5 μm and diameters of approximately 8 nm (Figure  1 (1-1C)). Each chemical composition was quantitatively analyzed using a Raman spectroscopic technique and showed a purity >99.0% for all three nanomaterials. Pathological observations of the lung Histopathological evaluation of lung tissues revealed that pulmonary exposures to nanoparticles in rats produced persistent and progressive lung inflammatory responses.