Toxicity of aged gasoline exhaust particles to normal and diseased airway epithelia

• Published in: Scientific reports 2015-06, Vol.5 (1), p.11801, Article 11801
• Main Authors: Künzi, Lisa, Krapf, Manuel, Daher, Nancy, Dommen, Josef, Jeannet, Natalie, Schneider, Sarah, Platt, Stephen, Slowik, Jay G., Baumlin, Nathalie, Salathe, Matthias, Prévôt, André S. H., Kalberer, Markus, Strähl, Christof, Dümbgen, Lutz, Sioutas, Constantinos, Baltensperger, Urs, Geiser, Marianne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13; 13/21; 639/638/169/824; 692/699/1785; 704/172/169/824; Aerosols; Aerosols - analysis; Air Pollutants - analysis; Antibiotics; Bronchi - cytology; Cell culture; Cell Line; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Chemokine CCL2 - secretion; Cystic fibrosis; Cytokines - secretion; Epithelial Cells - drug effects; Epithelial Cells - metabolism; Gasoline; Gasoline - analysis; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Interleukin-6 - secretion; Interleukin-8 - secretion; Lung diseases; multidisciplinary; Outdoor air quality; Particle Size; Particulate matter; Particulate Matter - analysis; Particulate Matter - chemistry; Particulate Matter - pharmacology; Respiratory Mucosa - cytology; Respiratory Mucosa - drug effects; Respiratory Mucosa - metabolism; Respiratory tract; Respiratory tract diseases; Science; Smog; Time Factors; Toxicity; Vehicle Emissions - analysis
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep11801

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is a leading cause of premature death, particularly in those with pre-existing lung disease. A causative link between particle properties and adverse health effects remains unestablished mainly due to complex and variable physico-chemical PM parameters. Controlled laboratory experiments are required. Generating atmospherically realistic aerosols and performing cell-exposure studies at relevant particle-doses are challenging. Here we examine gasoline-exhaust particle toxicity from a Euro-5 passenger car in a uniquely realistic exposure scenario, combining a smog chamber simulating atmospheric ageing, an aerosol enrichment system varying particle number concentration independent of particle chemistry and an aerosol deposition chamber physiologically delivering particles on air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures reproducing normal and susceptible health status. Gasoline-exhaust is an important PM source with largely unknown health effects. We investigated acute responses of fully-differentiated normal, distressed (antibiotics-treated) normal and cystic fibrosis human bronchial epithelia (HBE) and a proliferating, single-cell type bronchial epithelial cell-line (BEAS-2B). We show that a single, short-term exposure to realistic doses of atmospherically-aged gasoline-exhaust particles impairs epithelial key-defence mechanisms, rendering it more vulnerable to subsequent hazards. We establish dose-response curves at realistic particle-concentration levels. Significant differences between cell models suggest the use of fully-differentiated HBE is most appropriate in future toxicity studies.