HEALTH EFFECTS OF ACUTE EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION
Impact/Purpose:
Epidemiologic studies have noted that short-term increases in ambient levels of particulate matter (PM) are associated with hospital admissions and deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory disorders. These studies have suggested that individuals with preexisting diseases, such as cardiovascular disease or asthma, are more susceptible to the effects of air pollution than healthy individuals. However, the biologic mechanisms that underlie this association and the role that the composition and size of PM may have in causing adverse health effects are not well understood.
One hypothesis about how PM may exert its effects is that when it deposits in the airways, it activates a cascade of inflammatory events, a part of the body’s natural defense systems. Dr Holgate and an international team of collaborators had observed some of these inflammatory changes in lung fluids and blood from humans exposed to PM. They wanted to investigate whether such changes could also be observed in lung tissues. They proposed that such changes may be related to the chemical composition of PM (diesel exhaust vs concentrated ambient particles [CAPs]), and expected that changes would be more pronounced in people with asthma than in healthy people.
Description:
The investigators are among the first to investigate neurogenic inflammation in the lungs of rats exposed to whole diesel exhaust. It is anticipated that after exposure to both concentrations of diesel exhaust, consistently higher levels of plasma leakage and lower activity of the enzyme NEP will be observed. The research results are expected to confirm previous findings of mild inflammatory responses after exposure to diesel exhaust.
Record Details:
Record Type:PROJECT(
ABSTRACT
)
Start Date:04/01/2000
Completion Date:03/31/2005
Record ID:
258841
Related Organizations:
Role
:OWNER
Organization Name
:HEALTH EFFECTS INSTITUTE
Organization Name
:HEI
Mailing Address
:Charlestown Navy Yard, 120 Second Avenue
Citation
:Boston
State
:MA
Zip Code
:2129
Role
:OWNER
Organization Name
:UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
Organization Name
:HEI
Project Information:
Approach
:
At the Swedish laboratory, 25 healthy and 15 asthmatic participants will be exposed for 2 hours to diesel exhaust (100 µg/m3 PM concentration) or to filtered air on separate days. At the US laboratory, 12 healthy participants will be exposed for 2 hours to filtered air and 30 different healthy participants were exposed to a range of CAPs concentrations (25–311 µg/m3; median 108 µg/m3). In both studies, lung function will be assessed before and immediately after exposure. To obtain lung tissues and fluids, all participants in Sweden will undergo bronchoscopy 6 hours after exposure; in the US, lung tissues will be obtained 18 hours after exposure from 11 control and 10 CAPs-exposed participants (range 38–311 µg/m3; median 84 µg/m3). Tissue samples will be sent to Dr Holgate in the United Kingdom for analysis of inflammatory markers, including numbers of specific white blood cells, expression of activation markers, and levels of cytokines. Whereas Holgate’s laboratory will focus on analyzing lung tissues, the other laboratories will also analyze lung function, lung fluids, and blood. To appropriately interpret Holgate’s results, it is important to also consider the results from the other laboratories.
Cost
:$.00
Research Component
:Air Quality and Air Toxics
Approach
:
At the Swedish laboratory, 25 healthy and 15 asthmatic participants will be exposed for 2 hours to diesel exhaust (100 µg/m3 PM concentration) or to filtered air on separate days. At the US laboratory, 12 healthy participants will be exposed for 2 hours to filtered air and 30 different healthy participants were exposed to a range of CAPs concentrations (25–311 µg/m3; median 108 µg/m3). In both studies, lung function will be assessed before and immediately after exposure. To obtain lung tissues and fluids, all participants in Sweden will undergo bronchoscopy 6 hours after exposure; in the US, lung tissues will be obtained 18 hours after exposure from 11 control and 10 CAPs-exposed participants (range 38–311 µg/m3; median 84 µg/m3). Tissue samples will be sent to Dr Holgate in the United Kingdom for analysis of inflammatory markers, including numbers of specific white blood cells, expression of activation markers, and levels of cytokines. Whereas Holgate’s laboratory will focus on analyzing lung tissues, the other laboratories will also analyze lung function, lung fluids, and blood. To appropriately interpret Holgate’s results, it is important to also consider the results from the other laboratories.
Cost
:$.00
Research Component
:Health Effects