Biological effects of double-walled carbon nanotubes on the innate immune system: An in vitro study on THP-1 human monocytes.

DWCNTs have numerous industrial and biomedical applications and several studies reported that they could act as immunomodulator systems. The immune system is the first line of defence of the human body when exposed to particulate matter. In order to investigate DWCNTs' role on innate immunity, we used THP-1 monocytic cells for the purpose of this study.

Pyruvate reduces DNA damage during hypoxia and after reoxygenation in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Pyruvate is located at a crucial crossroad of cellular metabolism between the aerobic and anaerobic pathways. Modulation of the fate of pyruvate, in one direction or another, can be important for adaptative response to hypoxia followed by reoxygenation. This could alter functioning of the antioxidant system and have protective effects against DNA damage induced by such stress.

Pyruvate reverses metabolic effects produced by hypoxia in glioma and hepatoma cell cultures.

The intervention of pyruvate in glucose metabolism was investigated during hypoxic stress in tumour cell cultures having respiratory capacities under normoxic conditions. Results obtained with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy showed that, under normoxic conditions, rat glioma C6 and human hepatoma Hep G2 cell cultures metabolised [(13)C(1)]glucose into lactate, alanine, glutamate and other less abundant metabolites, as already known from the literature. In the absence of pyruvate, during hypoxia or cyanide poisoning, both cell types dramatically decreased the label into glutamate and accumulated [(13)C(3)]glycerol-3-phosphate.