The Influence of Air Pollution on the Development of Allergic Inflammation in the Airways in Krakow’s Atopic and Non-Atopic Residents

Ewa Czarnobilska,Małgorzata Bulanda,Daniel Bulanda,Marcel Mazur

doi:10.3390/jcm10112383

Ewa Czarnobilska, Małgorzata Bulanda + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10112383

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Abstract

Until now, the simultaneous influence of air pollution assessed by measuring the objective marker of exposition (1-hydroxypirene, 1-OHP) and atopy on the development of allergic airway diseases has not been studied. The aim of this study was to determine the pathomechanism of the allergic response to PM2.5 in atopic and non-atopic patients. We investigated the changes in peripheral blood basophil activity of patients after stimulation with the birch pollen allergen alone, the allergen combined with PM2.5 (BP), PM2.5 alone, a concentration of 1-OHP in urine, and a distance of residence from the main road in 30 persons. Activation by dust alone was positive for all concentrations in 83% of atopic and 75% of non-atopic assays. In the group of people with atopy, the simultaneous activation of BP gave a higher percentage of active basophils compared to the sum of activation with dust and birch pollen alone (B + P) for all concentrations. The difference between BP and B + P was 117.5 (p = 0.02) at a PM concentration of 100 μg. Such a relationship was not observed in the control group. The correlation coefficient between the distance of residence from major roads and urinary 1-OHP was 0.62. A Pearson correlation analysis of quantitative variables was performed, and positive correlation results were obtained in the atopy group between BP and 1-OH-P. Exposure to birch pollen and PM2.5 has a synergistic effect in sensitized individuals. The higher the exposure to pollutants, the higher the synergistic basophil response to the allergen and PM in atopic patients.

Highlights

Allergies are a public health problem with a pandemic range, especially in industrialized countries
According to the available reports, the air quality in the Kraków Agglomeration exceeds the established European concentration norms defined for particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5, as well as benzo[a]pyrene in Particulate matter (PM)
The simultaneous influence of air pollution assessed by measuring the objective marker of exposition (1-hydroxypirene (1-OHP)) and atopy on the development of allergic airway diseases in the inhabitants of Krakow has not been studied

Summary

Introduction

Allergies are a public health problem with a pandemic range, especially in industrialized countries. According to the World Health Organization, the number of patients suffering is 300 million, and with the rising trends, this number is expected to increase to 400 million by 2025. One of the possible factors explaining this phenomenon is growing up and living in conditions of increased air pollution (AP) [1,2]. According to the available reports, the air quality in the Kraków Agglomeration exceeds the established European concentration norms defined for particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5, as well as benzo[a]pyrene in PM. A significant share of air pollution in Kraków comes from the inflow from the neighboring communes [3]

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