Abstract
Exposure to particulate matter (PM) is leading to various respiratory health outcomes. Compared to coarse and fine particles, less is known about the effects of chronic exposure to ultrafine particles, despite their higher number and reactivity. In the present study, we performed a time-course experiment in mice to better analyze the lung impact of atmospheric ultrafine particles, with regard to the effects induced by fine particles collected on the same site. Trace element and PAH analysis demonstrated the almost similar chemical composition of both particle fractions. Mice were exposed intranasally to FF or UFP according to acute (10, 50 or 100 µg of PM) and repeated (10 µg of PM 3 times a week during 1 or 3 months) exposure protocols. More particle-laden macrophages and even greater chronic inflammation were observed in the UFP-exposed mice lungs. Histological analyses revealed that about 50% of lung tissues were damaged in mice exposed to UFP for three months versus only 35% in FF-exposed mice. These injuries were characterized by alveolar wall thickening, macrophage infiltrations, and cystic lesions. Taken together, these results strongly motivate the update of current regulations regarding ambient PM concentrations to include UFP and limit their emission.
Highlights
According to a new study published by Lelieveld et al (2019), air pollution leads to 8.8 million extra early deaths a year [1]
The analysis of the UFP solution indicated a bimodal with two peaks at 188.0 ± 39.9 nm and 1078 ± 305 nm corresponding to the presence of ultrafine distribution with two peaks at 188.0 ± 39.9 nm and 1078 ± 305 nm corresponding to the presence of particles (71.9 %) and the formation of particle aggregates (28.1 %), respectively (Figure 2)
The first peak corresponded to ultrafine particles of 188.0 ± 39.9 nm
Summary
According to a new study published by Lelieveld et al (2019), air pollution leads to 8.8 million extra early deaths a year [1]. These data exceed the last estimations of the World Health Organization [2]. Numerous epidemiological and experimental studies show that PM has adverse health effects, such as pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases [4]. It has been shown that ambient air pollution is associated with an increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and lung cancer mortality [5,6,7]
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