Nutritional modulation of the toxicity of environmental pollutants and implications in atherosclerosis

Abstract

Aim: Exposure to environmental pollutants is associated with the development of many diseases through multiple mechanisms including the induction of chronic inflammation. Many organic pollutants are persistent and express high stability and ubiquity in the environment. For example, coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which act as an agonist of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, exert toxic effects on the endothelium and associated vasculature. Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease initiated by vascular endothelial cell dysfunction, remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Furthermore, PCB-induced toxicity has been linked to increased expression of pro-inflammatory caveolin-1, the major structural protein in caveolae membrane domains.