Small Bits of Aerosolized Pollution Increase Circulatory Problems

[sharon sanders]

Go Bruins!! :tiphat:





Ambient Particulate Pollutants in the Ultrafine Range Promote Early Atherosclerosis and Systemic Oxidative Stress

Jesus A. Araujo ; <wbr>Berenice Barajas ; <wbr>Michael Kleinman ; <wbr>Xuping Wang ; <wbr>Brian J. Bennett ; <wbr>Ke Wei Gong ; <wbr>Mohamad Navab ; <wbr>Jack Harkema ; <wbr>Constantinos Sioutas ; <wbr>Aldons J. Lusis ; <wbr> and Andre E. Nel ^* From the Department of Medicine (J.A.A., B.B., X.W., B.J.B., K.W.G., M.N., A.J.L., A.E.N.), David Geffen School of Medicine, and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (C.S.), University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Department of Community and Environmental Medicine (M.K.), University of California, Irvine; and Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation (J.H.), Michigan State University, East Lansing.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ANel@mednet.ucla.edu<script type="text/javascript"><!-- var u = "ANel", d = "mednet.ucla.edu"; document.getElementById("em0").innerHTML = '<a href="mailto:' + u + '@' + d + '">' + u + '@' + d + '<\/a>'//--></script>.
<abs> </abs>
Air pollution is associated with significant adverse healtheffects, including increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameterof <2.5 ?m (PM_2.5) increases ischemic cardiovascularevents and promotes atherosclerosis. Moreover, there is increasingevidence that the smallest pollutant particles pose the greatestdanger because of their high content of organic chemicals andprooxidative potential. To test this hypothesis, we comparedthe proatherogenic effects of ambient particles of <0.18?m (ultrafine particles) with particles of <2.5 ?min genetically susceptible (apolipoprotein E?deficient)mice. These animals were exposed to concentrated ultrafine particles,concentrated particles of <2.5 ?m, or filtered air ina mobile animal facility close to a Los Angeles freeway. Ultrafineparticle?exposed mice exhibited significantly larger earlyatherosclerotic lesions than mice exposed to PM_2.5 or filteredair.of the antiinflammatory capacity Exposure to ultrafine particles also resulted in an inhibition of plasma high-density lipoproteinand greater systemic oxidative stress as evidenced by a significantincrease in hepatic malondialdehyde levels and upregulationof Nrf2-regulated antioxidant genes. We conclude that ultrafineparticles concentrate the proatherogenic effects of ambientPM and may constitute a significant cardiovascular risk factor.



http://circres.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/CIRCRESAHA.107.164970v1