Articles

Nanoparticle exposure reactivates latent herpesvirus and restores a signature of acute infection

Inhalation of environmental (nano) particles (NP) as well as persistent herpesvirus-infection are potentially associated with chronic lung disease and as both are omnipresent in human society a coincidence of ...

Authors: Christine Sattler, Franco Moritz, Shanze Chen, Beatrix Steer, David Kutschke, Martin Irmler, Johannes Beckers, Oliver Eickelberg, Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, Heiko Adler and Tobias Stoeger

In vitro biological responses to nanofibrillated cellulose by human dermal, lung and immune cells: surface chemistry aspect

Nanocellulose, and particularly nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), has been proposed for a diversity of applications in industry and in the biomedical field. Its unique physicochemical and structural features di...

Authors: Viviana R. Lopes, Carla Sanchez-Martinez, Maria Strømme and Natalia Ferraz

Early kidney damage induced by subchronic exposure to PM_2.5 in rats

Particulate matter exposure is associated with respiratory and cardiovascular system dysfunction. Recently, we demonstrated that fine particles, also named PM_2.5, modify the expression of some components of the a...

Authors: O. G. Aztatzi-Aguilar, M. Uribe-Ramírez, J. Narváez-Morales, A. De Vizcaya-Ruiz and O. Barbier

Combined exposure of diesel exhaust particles and respirable Soufrière Hills volcanic ash causes a (pro-)inflammatory response in an in vitro multicellular epithelial tissue barrier model

There are justifiable health concerns regarding the potential adverse effects associated with human exposure to volcanic ash (VA) particles, especially when considering communities living in urban areas alread...

Authors: Ines Tomašek, Claire J. Horwell, David E. Damby, Hana Barošová, Christoph Geers, Alke Petri-Fink, Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser and Martin J. D. Clift

Erratum to: Quantification of the cellular dose and characterization of nanoparticle transport during in vitro testing

Authors: Grigore Rischitor, Mariantonietta Parracino, Rita La Spina, Patricia Urbán, Isaac Ojea-Jiménez, Elena Bellido, Andrea Valsesia, Sabrina Gioria, Robin Capomaccio, Agnieszka Kinsner-Ovaskainen, Douglas Gilliland, François Rossi and Pascal Colpo

Contrasting biological potency of particulate matter collected at sites impacted by distinct industrial sources

Industrial sources contribute a significant proportion of anthropogenic particulate matter (PM) emissions, producing particles of varying composition that may differentially impact health. This study investiga...

Authors: Errol M. Thomson, Dalibor Breznan, Subramanian Karthikeyan, Christine MacKinnon-Roy, Ngoc Q. Vuong, Ewa Dabek-Zlotorzynska, Valbona Celo, Jean-Pierre Charland, Prem Kumarathasan, Jeffrey R. Brook and Renaud Vincent

Surface area-dependence of gas-particle interactions influences pulmonary and neuroinflammatory outcomes

Deleterious consequences of exposure to traffic emissions may derive from interactions between carbonaceous particulate matter (PM) and gaseous components in a manner that is dependent on the surface area or c...

Authors: Christina R. Tyler, Katherine E. Zychowski, Bethany N. Sanchez, Valeria Rivero, Selita Lucas, Guy Herbert, June Liu, Hammad Irshad, Jacob D. McDonald, Barry E. Bleske and Matthew J. Campen

Endocytosed nanoparticles hold endosomes and stimulate binucleated cells formation

Nanotechnology developed rapidly in cellular diagnosis and treatment, the endocytic system was an important pathway for targeting cell. In the research of developing macrophages as drug carriers or important t...

Authors: Lin Xia, Weihong Gu, Mingyi Zhang, Ya-Nan Chang, Kui Chen, Xue Bai, Lai Yu, Juan Li, Shan Li and Gengmei Xing

Interaction of rat alveolar macrophages with dental composite dust

Dental composites have become the standard filling material to restore teeth, but during the placement of these restorations, high amounts of respirable composite dust (<5 μm) including many nano-sized particl...

Authors: K. L. Van Landuyt, S. M. Cokic, C. Asbach, P. Hoet, L. Godderis, F. X. Reichl, B. Van Meerbeek, A. Vennemann and M. Wiemann

Early signs of multi-walled carbon nanotbues degradation in macrophages, via an intracellular pH-dependent biological mechanism; importance of length and functionalization

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) can interact with the biological environment, which could participate in their associated toxicity. We recently demonstrated that pH is an important player of CNT fate inside macrophages...

Authors: Marion Landry, Mathieu Pinault, Stéphane Tchankouo, Émeline Charon, Audrey Ridoux, Jorge Boczkowski, Martine Mayne-L’Hermite and Sophie Lanone

Comment on Shvedova et al. (2016), “gender differences in murine pulmonary responses elicited by cellulose nanocrystals”

A recent publication in “Particle and Fibre Toxicology” reported on the gender differences in pulmonary toxicity from oro-pharyngeal aspiration of a high dose of cellulose nanocrystals. The study is timely giv...

Authors: Jo Anne Shatkin and Günter Oberdörster

Myofibroblasts and lung fibrosis induced by carbon nanotube exposure

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are newly developed materials with unique properties and a range of industrial and commercial applications. A rapid expansion in the production of CNT materials may increase the risk of...

Authors: Jie Dong and Qiang Ma

Air-liquid interface exposure to aerosols of poorly soluble nanomaterials induces different biological activation levels compared to exposure to suspensions

Recently, much progress has been made to develop more physiologic in vitro models of the respiratory system and improve in vitro simulation of particle exposure through inhalation. Nevertheless, the field of n...

Authors: Thomas Loret, Emmanuel Peyret, Marielle Dubreuil, Olivier Aguerre-Chariol, Christophe Bressot, Olivier le Bihan, Tanguy Amodeo, Bénédicte Trouiller, Anne Braun, Christophe Egles and Ghislaine Lacroix

Toxicity of graphene-family nanoparticles: a general review of the origins and mechanisms

Due to their unique physicochemical properties, graphene-family nanomaterials (GFNs) are widely used in many fields, especially in biomedical applications. Currently, many studies have investigated the biocomp...

Authors: Lingling Ou, Bin Song, Huimin Liang, Jia Liu, Xiaoli Feng, Bin Deng, Ting Sun and Longquan Shao

Comparative toxicity and biodistribution assessments in rats following subchronic oral exposure to copper nanoparticles and microparticles

Copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) have great potential in electronics and biomedical fields because of their efficient thermodynamic and anti-microbial properties. However, their potential toxic effects and kineti...

Authors: In-Chul Lee, Je-Won Ko, Sung-Hyeuk Park, Na-Rae Shin, In-Sik Shin, Changjong Moon, Je-Hein Kim, Hyoung-Chin Kim and Jong-Choon Kim

Macrophage-derived MCPIP1 mediates silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis via autophagy

Silicosis is characterized by accumulation of fibroblasts and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix. Monocyte chemotactic protein-1-induced protein 1 (MCPIP1) plays a critical role in fibrosis induced b...

Authors: Haijun Liu, Shencun Fang, Wei Wang, Yusi Cheng, Yingming Zhang, Hong Liao, Honghong Yao and Jie Chao

Lung carcinogenicity of inhaled multi-walled carbon nanotube in rats

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) constitute one of the most promising types of nanomaterials in industry today. With their increasing use, the potential toxicity and carcinogenicity of MWCNT needs to be ...

Authors: Tatsuya Kasai, Yumi Umeda, Makoto Ohnishi, Takashi Mine, Hitomi Kondo, Tetsuya Takeuchi, Michiharu Matsumoto and Shoji Fukushima

Single- and double-walled carbon nanotubes enhance atherosclerogenesis by promoting monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells and endothelial progenitor cell dysfunction

The use of carbon nanotubes has increased lately. However, the cardiovascular effect of exposure to carbon nanotubes remains elusive. The present study investigated the effects of pulmonary exposure to single-...

Authors: Yuka Suzuki, Saeko Tada-Oikawa, Yasuhiko Hayashi, Kiyora Izuoka, Misa Kataoka, Shunsuke Ichikawa, Wenting Wu, Cai Zong, Gaku Ichihara and Sahoko Ichihara

The role of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in zinc oxide nanoparticle-induced nephrotoxicity in vitro and in vivo

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are used in an increasing number of products, including rubber manufacture, cosmetics, pigments, food additives, medicine, chemical fibers and electronics. However, the molec...

Authors: Yuh-Feng Lin, I-Jen Chiu, Fong-Yu Cheng, Yu-Hsuan Lee, Ying-Jan Wang, Yung-Ho Hsu and Hui-Wen Chiu

The NLRP3 inflammasome in pathogenic particle and fibre-associated lung inflammation and diseases

The concept of the inflammasome, a macromolecular complex sensing cell stress or danger signals and initiating inflammation, was first introduced approximately a decade ago. Priming and activation of these int...

Authors: Mutlay Sayan and Brooke T. Mossman

Genetic toxicity assessment of engineered nanoparticles using a 3D in vitro skin model (EpiDerm™)

The rapid production and incorporation of engineered nanomaterials into consumer products alongside research suggesting nanomaterials can cause cell death and DNA damage (genotoxicity) makes in vitro assays de...

Authors: John W. Wills, Nicole Hondow, Adam D. Thomas, Katherine E. Chapman, David Fish, Thierry G. Maffeis, Mark W. Penny, Richard A. Brown, Gareth J. S. Jenkins, Andy P. Brown, Paul A. White and Shareen H. Doak

Copper oxide nanoparticle toxicity profiling using untargeted metabolomics

The rapidly increasing number of engineered nanoparticles (NPs), and products containing NPs, raises concerns for human exposure and safety. With this increasing, and ever changing, catalogue of NPs it is beco...

Authors: Matthew S. P. Boyles, Christina Ranninger, Roland Reischl, Marc Rurik, Richard Tessadri, Oliver Kohlbacher, Albert Duschl and Christian G. Huber

Quantification of the cellular dose and characterization of nanoparticle transport during in vitro testing

The constant increase of the use of nanomaterials in consumer products is making increasingly urgent that standardized and reliable in vitro test methods for toxicity screening be made available to the scienti...

Authors: Grigore Rischitor, Mariantonietta Parracino, Rita La Spina, Patrizia Urbán, Isaac Ojea-Jiménez, Elena Bellido, Andrea Valsesia, Sabrina Gioria, Robin Capomaccio, Agnieszka Kinsner-Ovaskainen, Douglas Gilliland, François Rossi and Pascal Colpo

Impact of pulmonary exposure to gold core silver nanoparticles of different size and capping agents on cardiovascular injury

The uses of engineered nanomaterials have expanded in biomedical technology and consumer manufacturing. Furthermore, pulmonary exposure to various engineered nanomaterials has, likewise, demonstrated the abili...

Authors: Nathan A. Holland, Leslie C. Thompson, Achini K. Vidanapathirana, Rahkee N. Urankar, Robert M. Lust, Timothy R. Fennell and Christopher J. Wingard

Mesothelioma response to carbon nanotubes is associated with an early and selective accumulation of immunosuppressive monocytic cells

The asbestos-like toxicity of some engineered carbon nanotubes (CNT), notably their capacity to induce mesothelioma, is a serious cause of concern for public health. Here we show that carcinogenic CNT induce a...

Authors: François Huaux, Virginie d’Ursel de Bousies, Marie-Astrid Parent, Micaela Orsi, Francine Uwambayinema, Raynal Devosse, Saloua Ibouraadaten, Yousof Yakoub, Nadtha Panin, Mihaly Palmai-Pallag, Pierre van der Bruggen, Christian Bailly, Riccardo Marega, Etienne Marbaix and Dominique Lison

In vivo biodistribution and physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of inhaled fresh and aged cerium oxide nanoparticles in rats

Cerium oxide (CeO₂) nanoparticles used as a diesel fuel additive can be emitted into the ambient air leading to human inhalation. Although biological studies have shown CeO₂ nanoparticles can cause adverse health...

Authors: Dingsheng Li, Masako Morishita, James G. Wagner, Mohammad Fatouraie, Margaret Wooldridge, W. Ethan Eagle, James Barres, Ulrika Carlander, Claude Emond and Olivier Jolliet

Long-term exposure to commercially available sunscreens containing nanoparticles of TiO₂ and ZnO revealed no biological impact in a hairless mouse model

The application of sunscreen is a critical component of a sun-safe strategy, however the possibility of unexpected, adverse outcomes resulting from long-term use of sunscreens containing nanoparticles of titan...

Authors: Megan J. Osmond-McLeod, Yalchin Oytam, Anthony Rowe, Fariborz Sobhanmanesh, Gavin Greenoak, Jason Kirby, Elizabeth F. McInnes and Maxine J. McCall

Erratum to: Surface modification-mediated biodistribution of ¹³C-fullerene C₆₀ in vivo

Authors: Chenglong Wang, Yitong Bai, Hongliang Li, Rong Liao, Jiaxin Li, Han Zhang, Xian Zhang, Sujuan Zhang, Sheng-Tao Yang and Xue-Ling Chang

Differential pulmonary effects of CoO and La₂O₃ metal oxide nanoparticle responses during aerosolized inhalation in mice

Although classified as metal oxides, cobalt monoxide (CoO) and lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃) nanoparticles, as representative transition and rare earth oxides, exhibit distinct material properties that may result in di...

Authors: Jennifer D. Sisler, Ruibin Li, Walter McKinney, Robert R. Mercer, Zhaoxia Ji, Tian Xia, Xiang Wang, Justine Shaffer, Marlene Orandle, Amy L. Mihalchik, Lori Battelli, Bean T. Chen, Michael Wolfarth, Michael E. Andrew, Diane Schwegler-Berry, Dale W. Porter…

The complex cascade of cellular events governing inflammasome activation and IL-1β processing in response to inhaled particles

The innate immune system is the first line of defense against inhaled particles. Macrophages serve important roles in particle clearance and inflammatory reactions. Following recognition and internalization by...

Authors: Virginie Rabolli, Dominique Lison and François Huaux

Development of an integrated approach for comparison of in vitro and in vivo responses to particulate matter

Association of particulate matter with adverse health effects has been established in epidemiological studies and animal experiments. Epidemiological studies are difficult to undertake while animal studies are...

Authors: Dalibor Breznan, Subramanian Karthikeyan, Marcelle Phaneuf, Prem Kumarathasan, Sabit Cakmak, Michael S. Denison, Jeffrey R. Brook and Renaud Vincent

Maternal exposure to diluted diesel engine exhaust alters placental function and induces intergenerational effects in rabbits

Airborne pollution is a rising concern in urban areas. Epidemiological studies in humans and animal experiments using rodent models indicate that gestational exposure to airborne pollution, in particular diese...

Authors: Sarah A. Valentino, Anne Tarrade, Josiane Aioun, Eve Mourier, Christophe Richard, Michèle Dahirel, Delphine Rousseau-Ralliard, Natalie Fournier, Marie-Christine Aubrière, Marie-Sylvie Lallemand, Sylvaine Camous, Marine Guinot, Madia Charlier, Etienne Aujean, Hala Al Adhami, Paul H. Fokkens…

Dietary silver nanoparticles can disturb the gut microbiota in mice

Humans are increasingly exposed via the diet to Ag nanoparticles (NP) used in the food industry. Because of their anti-bacterial activity, ingested Ag NP might disturb the gut microbiota that is essential for ...

Authors: Sybille van den Brule, Jérôme Ambroise, Hélène Lecloux, Clément Levard, Romain Soulas, Pieter-Jan De Temmerman, Mihaly Palmai-Pallag, Etienne Marbaix and Dominique Lison

Epoxy composite dusts with and without carbon nanotubes cause similar pulmonary responses, but differences in liver histology in mice following pulmonary deposition

The toxicity of dusts from mechanical abrasion of multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT) epoxy nanocomposites is unknown. We compared the toxic effects of dusts generated by sanding of epoxy composites with and wi...

Authors: Anne Thoustrup Saber, Alicja Mortensen, Józef Szarek, Ismo Kalevi Koponen, Marcus Levin, Nicklas Raun Jacobsen, Maria Elena Pozzebon, Stefano Pozzi Mucelli, David George Rickerby, Kirsten Kling, Rambabu Atluri, Anne Mette Madsen, Petra Jackson, Zdenka Orabi Kyjovska, Ulla Vogel, Keld Alstrup Jensen…

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles induce the expression of early and late receptors for adhesion molecules on monocytes

There is growing evidence that exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) could be harmful. Previously, we have shown that TiO₂ NPs induces endothelial cell dysfunction and damage in glial cells. Consi...

Authors: Cristhiam Rueda-Romero, Guillermina Hernández-Pérez, Pilar Ramos-Godínez, Inés Vázquez-López, Raúl Omar Quintana-Belmares, Elizabeth Huerta-García, Ewa Stepien, Rebeca López-Marure, Angélica Montiel-Dávalos and Ernesto Alfaro-Moreno

Erratum to: Silica coating influences the corona and biokinetics of cerium oxide nanoparticles

Authors: Nagarjun V. Konduru, Renato J. Jimenez, Archana Swami, Sherri Friend, Vincent Castranova, Philip Demokritou, Joseph D. Brain and Ramon M. Molina

Evaluation of pulmonary and systemic toxicity following lung exposure to graphite nanoplates: a member of the graphene-based nanomaterial family

Graphene, a monolayer of carbon, is an engineered nanomaterial (ENM) with physical and chemical properties that may offer application advantages over other carbonaceous ENMs, such as carbon nanotubes (CNT). Th...

Authors: Jenny R. Roberts, Robert R. Mercer, Aleksandr B. Stefaniak, Mohindar S. Seehra, Usha K. Geddam, Ishrat S. Chaudhuri, Angelos Kyrlidis, Vamsi K. Kodali, Tina Sager, Allison Kenyon, Suzan A. Bilgesu, Tracy Eye, James F. Scabilloni, Stephen S. Leonard, Natalie R. Fix, Diane Schwegler-Berry…

No involvement of alveolar macrophages in the initiation of carbon nanoparticle induced acute lung inflammation in mice

Carbonaceous nanoparticles (CNP) represent a major constituent of urban particulate air pollution, and inhalation of high CNP levels has been described to trigger a pro-inflammatory response of the lung. While...

Authors: Shanze Chen, Renfu Yin, Kathrin Mutze, Youjia Yu, Shinji Takenaka, Melanie Königshoff and Tobias Stoeger

Increase in oxidative stress levels following welding fume inhalation: a controlled human exposure study

Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding represents one of the most widely used metal joining processes in industry. It has been shown to generate a large majority of particles at the nanoscale and to have low mass em...

Authors: Halshka Graczyk, Nastassja Lewinski, Jiayuan Zhao, Jean-Jacques Sauvain, Guillaume Suarez, Pascal Wild, Brigitta Danuser and Michael Riediker

Revisiting the paradigm of silica pathogenicity with synthetic quartz crystals: the role of crystallinity and surface disorder

Exposure to some - but not all - quartz particles is associated to silicosis, lung cancer and autoimmune diseases. What imparts pathogenicity to any single quartz source is however still unclear. Crystallinity...

Authors: Francesco Turci, Cristina Pavan, Riccardo Leinardi, Maura Tomatis, Linda Pastero, David Garry, Sergio Anguissola, Dominique Lison and Bice Fubini

Nickel oxide nanoparticles can recruit eosinophils in the lungs of rats by the direct release of intracellular eotaxin

Instillation of highly soluble nanoparticles (NPs) into the lungs of rodents can cause acute eosinophilia without any previous sensitizations by the role of dissolved ions. However, whether gradually dissolvin...

Authors: Seonghan Lee, Sung-Hyun Hwang, Jiyoung Jeong, Youngju Han, Sung-Hyun Kim, Dong-Keon Lee, Hae-Suk Lee, Seung-Tae Chung, Jayoung Jeong, Changhyun Roh, Yun Seok Huh and Wan-Seob Cho

Gender differences in murine pulmonary responses elicited by cellulose nanocrystals

Cellulose-based materials have been used for centuries to manufacture different goods derived from forestry and agricultural sources. In the growing field of nanocellulose applications, its uniquely engineered...

Authors: Anna A. Shvedova, Elena R. Kisin, Naveena Yanamala, Mariana T. Farcas, Autumn L. Menas, Andrew Williams, Philip M. Fournier, Jeffrey S. Reynolds, Dmitriy W. Gutkin, Alexander Star, Richard S. Reiner, Sabina Halappanavar and Valerian E. Kagan

Atomic layer deposition coating of carbon nanotubes with zinc oxide causes acute phase immune responses in human monocytes in vitro and in mice after pulmonary exposure

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a method for applying conformal nanoscale coatings on three-dimensional structures. We hypothesized that surface functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) wit...

Authors: Erinn C. Dandley, Alexia J. Taylor, Katherine S. Duke, Mark D. Ihrie, Kelly A. Shipkowski, Gregory N. Parsons and James C. Bonner

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes directly induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human bronchial epithelial cells via the TGF-β-mediated Akt/GSK-3β/SNAIL-1 signalling pathway

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) are currently under intense toxicological investigation due to concern on their potential health effects. Current in vitro and in vivo data indicate that MWCNT exposure is...

Authors: Manuela Polimeni, Giulia Rossana Gulino, Elena Gazzano, Joanna Kopecka, Arianna Marucco, Ivana Fenoglio, Federico Cesano, Luisa Campagnolo, Andrea Magrini, Antonio Pietroiusti, Dario Ghigo and Elisabetta Aldieri

Effects of urban fine particulate matter and ozone on HDL functionality

Exposures to ambient particulate matter (PM) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. PM_2.5 (<2.5 μm) and ozone exposures have been shown to associate with carotid intima media thickness in humans. ...

Authors: Gajalakshmi Ramanathan, Fen Yin, Mary Speck, Chi-hong Tseng, Jeffrey R. Brook, Frances Silverman, Bruce Urch, Robert D. Brook and Jesus A. Araujo

Meta-analysis of transcriptomic responses as a means to identify pulmonary disease outcomes for engineered nanomaterials

The increasing use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) of varying physical and chemical characteristics poses a great challenge for screening and assessing the potential pathology induced by these materials, ne...

Authors: Jake Nikota, Andrew Williams, Carole L. Yauk, Håkan Wallin, Ulla Vogel and Sabina Halappanavar

Diesel exposure suppresses natural killer cell function and resolution of eosinophil inflammation: a randomized controlled trial of exposure in allergic rhinitics

Exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) is known to exacerbate allergic inflammation, including virus-induced eosinophil activation in laboratory animals. We have previously shown that in human volunteers with allergi...

Authors: Erica A. Pawlak, Terry L. Noah, Haibo Zhou, Claire Chehrazi, Carole Robinette, David Diaz-Sanchez, Loretta Müller and Ilona Jaspers

Direct stimulation of human fibroblasts by nCeO₂ in vitro is attenuated with an amorphous silica coating

Nano-scaled cerium oxide (nCeO₂) is used in a variety of applications, including use as a fuel additive, catalyst, and polishing agent, yet potential adverse health effects associated with nCeO₂ exposure remain i...

Authors: Donna C. Davidson, Raymond Derk, Xiaoqing He, Todd A. Stueckle, Joel Cohen, Sandra V. Pirela, Philip Demokritou, Yon Rojanasakul and Liying Wang

Ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles acutely promote thrombosis and cardiac oxidative stress and DNA damage in mice

Ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (USPIO) are being developed for several biomedical applications including drug delivery and imaging. However, little is known about their possible adverse ...

Authors: Abderrahim Nemmar, Sumaya Beegam, Priya Yuvaraju, Javed Yasin, Saeed Tariq, Samir Attoub and Badreldin H. Ali

Intravenous administration of silver nanoparticles causes organ toxicity through intracellular ROS-related loss of inter-endothelial junction

Administration of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to mice could result in their distribution and accumulation in multiple organs, with notable prominence in liver, lungs, and kidneys. However, how AgNPs transport...

Authors: Hua Guo, Jing Zhang, Mary Boudreau, Jie Meng, Jun-jie Yin, Jian Liu and Haiyan Xu