{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T00:28:48Z","timestamp":1788395328795,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,26]],"date-time":"2025-05-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748217600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Toxicol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Several lines of evidence suggest the possibility that inhalation exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) at occupationally relevant doses can lead to systemic immunotoxicity. To test this hypothesis, we undertook in-depth examination of immune function in mice and rats exposed by inhalation to relatively low levels of 1020 Long Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (L-MWNT-1020).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Studies were conducted to determine the systemic and pulmonary immunotoxic effects in mice and rats exposed to L-MWNT-1020 following whole-body inhalation for 6\u00a0h\/day for 5\u00a0days\/week for 30 (mice and rats) and 90 (mice) days at dose levels of 0, 0.06, 0.2, and 0.6\u00a0mg\/m<jats:sup>3<\/jats:sup>. Additional groups were administered cyclophosphamide (CPS) as a positive control for each cohort. Following exposure, pulmonary macrophage phagocytosis, immunophenotypic analysis of immune cells populations in the spleen, and systemic immune function, including tests for humoral (T-dependent antibody response, TDAR), cell-mediated (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte [CTL] activity), and innate (Natural Killer [NK] cell activity) immunity were conducted.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>While exposure increased pulmonary macrophage activity, no major changes were observed in any of the systemic immune parameters measured in mice exposed for 30 or 90\u00a0days. In rats, there was a slight decrease in humoral immunity coinciding with an increase in the number of splenic T cell and NK cell populations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Although pulmonary macrophage activity increased in mice following exposure to L-MWNT-1020, systemic immune function for the most part remained unaffected. In contrast, rats demonstrated a slight decrease in humoral immune function as well as an increase in spleen cell numbers, T cell, and NK cell populations suggesting species-specific effects on systemic immunity, however, these effects were small and their biological significance with respect to altering disease susceptibility is unclear.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/ftox.2025.1539810","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,26]],"date-time":"2025-05-26T09:48:43Z","timestamp":1748252923000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Immunotoxicity assessment of multiwalled carbon nanotubes following whole-body inhalation exposure for 30 and 90\u00a0days in B6C3F1\/N mice and 30\u00a0days in HSD:Harlan Sprague Dawley SD\u00ae rats"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Victor J.","family":"Johnson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nigel J.","family":"Walker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael I.","family":"Luster","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gary R.","family":"Burleson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michelle","family":"Cora","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gregory L.","family":"Baker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Barney","family":"Sparrow","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dori R.","family":"Germolec","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"26215","DOI":"10.1021\/acsnano.4c07893","article-title":"House dust mite proteins adsorb on multiwalled carbon nanotubes forming an allergen corona that intensifies allergic lung disease in mice","volume":"18","author":"Bartone","year":"2024","journal-title":"ACS Nano"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3390\/nano11030745","article-title":"Occupational exposure to carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibres: more than a cobweb","volume":"11","author":"Bergamaschi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nanomaterials"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"199","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4939-8549-4_13","article-title":"Evaluation of cell-mediated immune function using the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte assay","volume":"1803","author":"Burleson","year":"2018","journal-title":"Methods Mol. 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