Abstract
Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, magnetite/maghemite, have been identified in human tissues, including the brain, meninges, heart, liver, and spleen. As these nanoparticles may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, a pilot study explored the occurrence of these particles in the cervical (neck) skin of 10 patients with Parkinson's disease and 10 healthy controls. Magnetometry and transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed magnetite/maghemite nanoparticles in the skin samples of every study participant. Regarding magnetite/maghemite concentrations of the single-domain particles, no significant between-group difference was emerged. In low-temperature magnetic measurement, a magnetic anomaly at ~50 K was evident mainly in the dermal samples of the Parkinson group. This anomaly was larger than the effect related to the magnetic ordering of molecular oxygen. The temperature range of the anomaly, and the size-range of magnetite/maghemite, both refute the idea of magnetic ordering of any iron phase other than magnetite. We propose that the explanation for the finding is interaction between clusters of superparamagnetic and single-domain-sized nanoparticles. The source and significance of these particles remains speculative.
Highlights
Magnetic analyses of human tissues have revealed the presence of nanosized ferrimagnetic magnetite/maghemite particles (MNPs) in the brain, meninges, heart, liver, and spleen [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
The magnetic iron oxide, magnetite (Fe2+Fe32+O4), and its oxidized equivalent maghemite (γ-Fe32+O3), may each possibly play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases [3, 22]
Morphology, and composition of MNPs in human cervical skin samples by magnetometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the associated spectroscopic techniques, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS)
Summary
Magnetic analyses of human tissues have revealed the presence of nanosized ferrimagnetic magnetite/maghemite particles (MNPs) in the brain, meninges, heart, liver, and spleen [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Many organisms are able to biochemically precipitate magnetite [10], and one theory is that biogenic magnetic nanoparticles in human tissues crystallize in situ, with the possible precursor being ferritin [11, 12]. Magnetic nanoparticles have induced loss of mitochondrial membrane potential as an early sign of apoptosis [21]. The magnetic iron oxide, magnetite (Fe2+Fe32+O4), and its oxidized equivalent maghemite (γ-Fe32+O3), may each possibly play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases [3, 22]. Exploring the occurrence of MNPs in skin tissue may reveal important information on PD pathogenesis
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