Industrial PM cause pulmonary adverse effect through RhoA/ROCK pathway.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Health, industrial pollution-induced health impacts have been the leading cause of death in China. While industrial fine particulate matter (PM) is associated with adverse health effects, the major action mechanisms of different compositions of PM are currently unclear. In this study, we treated normal human lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells with industrial organic and water-soluble PM extracts under daily alveolar deposition dose to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying adverse pulmonary effects induced by PM, including oxidative damage, inflammatory response, lung epithelial barrier dysfunction, and the recruitment of macrophages. We found that water-soluble PM extracts caused more severe cytotoxic effects on BEAS-2B cells compared with that of organic extracts. Both organic and water-soluble PM extracts induced activation of the RhoA/ROCK pathway. Inflammatory response, epithelial barrier dysfunction, and the activation of NF-кB caused by both PM extracts were attenuated by ROCK inhibitor Y-27632. This indicated that both PM extracts could cause damage to epithelial cells through RhoA/ROCK-dependent NF-кB activation. Furthermore, the upregulation of macrophage adhesion induced by both PM extracts was also attenuated by Y-27632 in a co-culture model of macrophages and the epithelial cells. Therefore, our results support that industrial PM extracts-induced activation of the RhoA/ROCK-dependent NF-кB pathway induces pulmonary adverse effect. Thus, pharmacological inhibition of ROCK activation might have therapeutic potential in preventing lung disease associated with PM.