Abstract
Air pollution has become a serious public health problem globally. Recent studies support the harmful effect of air pollution on human health, in addition to scientific evidence that recognizes it as a human carcinogen. The buccal micronucleus cytome (BMC) assay is employed extensively to measure cytotoxic and genotoxic damage in a population exposed to environmental contamination. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects in healthy young adults exposed to different levels of air pollution and to identify areas with air pollution rates above the regulatory limits. This study was performed through the BMC assay in oral mucosa samples from 80 healthy young adults from the Guadalajara metropolitan zone. Three highly contaminated areas were taken into account: Tlaquepaque, Miravalle, and Las Pintas. Las Aguilas, a less contaminated area, was used as a reference. The frequencies of nuclear abnormalities in the areas with the highest and lowest levels of air pollution were compared with the Mann–Whitney U test. In addition, an analysis of the concentration of environmental pollutants, particulate matter ≤ 10 μm (PM10), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon monoxide (CO), were carried out in the mentioned areas, in order to identify the events above the regulatory limits in a year period. The results showed that young adults exposed to a higher concentration of pollutants showed higher frequencies of nuclear abnormalities. The individuals from the areas of Tlaquepaque, Miravalle, and Las Pintas showed cytotoxic damage since statistically significant differences were found in the abnormalities of pyknotic nuclei (PNs), condensed chromatin (CC), karyorrhexis (KX), and karyolysis (KL). The individuals who showed the most cytotoxic damage were from the Las Pintas area with higher frequencies in nuclear abnormalities (PNs, CC, KX, and KL) (p < 0.0001). Genotoxic damage was found in individuals from two zones, Miravalle and Las Pintas, with statistically significant differences in the abnormality of nuclear buds (NBUDs) (p < 0.0001). Our results suggest that exposure to high levels of air pollution in healthy young adults has an effect on cellular and nuclear integrity and thus in human health, since areas with higher air pollution showed an increase in cytotoxicity, specifically in early and late markers of cell death (CC, KX, PN, and KL) and genotoxic damage (BUDs).
Highlights
In the last decades, air pollution is one of the main public health problems and a cause of concern for the World Health Organization (WHO) due to an increase in industrialization and the use of automobiles [1].According to the data of the Secretary of Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET), Guadalajara City in Mexico, has positioned itself in recent years as one of the cities with the highest rate of air pollution and declarations of environmental contingencies due to an increase in population, number of vehicles, and industrialization [2].Most of the air pollutants in large cities are generated by anthropogenic activities, such gasoline combustion from automobiles, along with pollution generated by industrial activities
The frequency of damage and cytogenotoxic markers was evaluated in 80 young adults from four areas of the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (20 individuals selected from each one), with different levels of atmospheric pollution, older than 18 years of both sexes, who signed prior informed consent
A study carried out in five Italian towns [9] showed maximum means for the markers of condensed chromatin (CC) (29:10 ± 19:6), KX (13:83 ± 13:81), and KL (28:98 ± 18:76), higher than those we found in Las Pintas (CC (8:05 ± 0:75), KX (4:90 ± 0:78), and KL (5:80 ± 0:76)), and lower than those found in the other study conducted by Ceretti et al [8] (CC (17:20 ± 6:13) and KX (7:44 ± 4:29)), except for KL (3:71 ± 3:37), which is lower than Las Pintas KL result
Summary
Air pollution is one of the main public health problems and a cause of concern for the World Health Organization (WHO) due to an increase in industrialization and the use of automobiles [1].According to the data of the Secretary of Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET), Guadalajara City in Mexico, has positioned itself in recent years as one of the cities with the highest rate of air pollution and declarations of environmental contingencies due to an increase in population, number of vehicles, and industrialization [2].Most of the air pollutants in large cities are generated by anthropogenic activities, such gasoline combustion from automobiles, along with pollution generated by industrial activities. Air pollution is one of the main public health problems and a cause of concern for the World Health Organization (WHO) due to an increase in industrialization and the use of automobiles [1]. Air pollutants are divided into two large groups: primary pollutants which are emitted directly into the atmosphere, where SO2, CO, and NO2 are recognized, and secondary pollutants, which are generated by photochemical processes over the primary ones, among which O3, H2SO4, HNO3, and others are included. The main contaminants according to the WHO guidelines are PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, and O3 [1] All these pollutants are included in the air quality monitoring system of SEMADET Jalisco, Mexico [2]
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