Carbon nanoparticles downregulate expression of basic fibroblast growth factor in the heart during embryogenesis

Mateusz Wierzbicki,¹ Ewa Sawosz,¹ Marta Grodzik,¹ Anna Hotowy,¹ Marta Prasek,¹ Slawomir Jaworski,¹ Filip Sawosz,² André Chwalibog<sup>2

1</sup>Division of Nanobiotechnology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland; ²Department of Veterinary Clinical and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract: Carbon nanoparticles, with their high biocompatibility and low toxicity, have recently been considered for biomedical applications, including antiangiogenic therapy. Critical to normal development and tumor formation, angiogenesis is the process of forming capillary blood vessels from preexisting vessels. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of diamond and graphite nanoparticles on the development of chicken embryos, as well as vascularization of the chorioallantoic membrane and heart at the morphological and molecular level. Nanoparticles did not affect either body/heart weight or serum indices of the embryos’ health. However, vascularization of the heart and the density of branched vessels were significantly reduced after treatment with diamond nanoparticles and, to a lesser extent, graphite nanoparticles. Application of nanoparticles significantly downregulated gene and protein expression of the proangiogenic basic fibroblast growth factor, indicating that both diamond and graphite nanoparticles inhibit angiogenesis.

Keywords: diamond, graphite, nanoparticles, vasculogenesis, bFGF, VEGF