Reduced in vitro toxicity of fine particulate matter collected during the 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing: The roles of chemical and biological components

• Published in: Toxicology in vitro 2013-10, Vol.27 (7), p.2084-2093
• Main Authors: Shang, Yu, Zhu, Tong, Lenz, Anke-Gabriele, Frankenberger, Birgit, Tian, Feng, Chen, Chenyong, Stoeger, Tobias
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 2008 Olympic Games; Air - analysis; Air - standards; Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollutants - chemistry; Air Pollutants - toxicity; Air Pollution - legislation & jurisprudence; Air Pollution - prevention & control; Animals; Anniversaries and Special Events; Cell Line; Cell Survival - drug effects; China; Cytokine/chemokine; Cytokines - agonists; Cytokines - secretion; Cytotoxicity; Endotoxins - analysis; Endotoxins - toxicity; Environmental Monitoring; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Humans; Inflammation; Legislation as Topic; Macrophages, Alveolar - drug effects; Macrophages, Alveolar - immunology; Macrophages, Alveolar - metabolism; Macrophages, Alveolar - secretion; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Metals, Heavy - toxicity; Mice; Oxidative stress; Particle Size; Particulate Matter - chemistry; Particulate Matter - toxicity; PM2.5; Sports; Urban Health
• ISSN: 0887-2333; 1879-3177
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tiv.2013.08.004

•PM2.5 toxicity collected pre- and during 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing depended on its components.•Elemental zinc in PM2.5 was significantly associated with cell death.•Endotoxin in PM2.5 correlated with all of the eight detected cytokines/chemokines.•Reduced specific components in PM2.5 would cause less adverse health effects. Beijing has implemented systematic air pollution control legislation to reduce particulate emissions and improve air quality during the 2008 Summer Olympics, but whether the toxicity of fine fraction of particles (PM2.5) would be changed remains unclear. In present study we compared in vitro biological responses of PM2.5 collected before and during the Olympics and tried to reveal possible correlations between its chemical components and toxicological mechanism(s). We measured cytotoxicity, cytokines/chemokines, and related gene expressions in murine alveolar macrophages, MH-S, after treated with 20PM2.5 samples. Significant, dose-dependent effects on cell viability, cytokine/chemokine release and mRNA expressions were observed. The cytotoxicity caused at equal mass concentration of PM2.5 was notably reduced (p