Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Environ Res. 2019 Jun;173:306-317. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.03.053. Epub 2019 Mar 26.
Previous studies found associations between impairments of immune functions and exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air pollution in the U. S. and China. However, the results remain inconclusive due to the limitations of these studies. In this study, we aimed to examine the direction and magnitude of immune changes related to PAH exposure from household air pollution among rural women living in Gansu, China. Healthy village women (n = 34) were recruited and enrolled in the study. Questionnaires were administered. Blood and urine samples were collected and analyzed during non-heating (September 2017, "summer") and heating (January 2018, "winter") seasons. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) was quantified as the biomarker of PAH exposure. To evaluate Treg cell related immune functions, we examined immunoglobulin E (IgE), percent of T-regulatory (Treg) cells, and gene expression of following: forkhead box transcription factor 3 (Foxp3), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), interleukin 10 (IL-10), and interleukin 35 (IL-35), composed of interleukin-12 alpha (IL-12α) and Epstein-Barr-virus-induced gene 3 (EBi3). Urinary 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was measured to evaluate oxidative DNA damage. The results showed that the concentration of 1-OHP increased from 0.90 to 17.4 μmol mol-Cr from summer to winter (p < 0.001). Meanwhile, average percent of Treg cells decreased from 5.01% to 1.15% (p < 0.001); IgE and mRNA expressions of Foxp3, TGF-β, IL-10, IL-12α and EBi3 all significantly decreased (p < 0.001); Urinary 8-OHdG increased from 12.7 to 30.3 ng mg-Cr (p < 0.001). The changes in 8-OHdG, Foxp3 and TGF-β were significantly associated with the increase of 1-OHP. The results suggested that we observed a substantial increase of PAH exposure in winter, which was significantly associated with the repression on Treg cell function and oxidative DNA damage. Exposure to PAHs in household air pollution possibly induced immune impairments among rural women in northwest China.
先前的研究发现，在美国和中国，环境空气中多环芳烃（PAHs）的暴露与免疫功能受损之间存在关联。然而，由于这些研究的局限性，结果仍不确定。在这项研究中，我们旨在研究中国甘肃农村妇女家庭空气污染中 PAH 暴露相关的免疫变化的方向和程度。我们招募了健康的农村妇女（n=34），并对她们进行了问卷调查。在非采暖期（2017 年 9 月，“夏季”）和采暖期（2018 年 1 月，“冬季”）采集并分析了血液和尿液样本。尿 1-羟苊（1-OHP）被量化为 PAH 暴露的生物标志物。为了评估 Treg 细胞相关的免疫功能，我们检测了免疫球蛋白 E（IgE）、T 调节（Treg）细胞的百分比，以及以下基因的表达：叉头框转录因子 3（Foxp3）、转化生长因子-β（TGF-β）、白细胞介素 10（IL-10）和白细胞介素 35（IL-35），由白细胞介素 12 阿尔法（IL-12α）和 Epstein-Barr 病毒诱导基因 3（EBi3）组成。测量了尿液 8-羟基-2-脱氧鸟苷（8-OHdG）以评估氧化 DNA 损伤。结果表明，1-OHP 的浓度从夏季的 0.90 增加到冬季的 17.4 μmol mol-Cr（p<0.001）。同时，Treg 细胞的平均百分比从 5.01%下降到 1.15%（p<0.001）；IgE 和 Foxp3、TGF-β、IL-10、IL-12α 和 EBi3 的 mRNA 表达均显著降低（p<0.001）；尿液 8-OHdG 从 12.7 增加到 30.3ng mg-Cr（p<0.001）。8-OHdG、Foxp3 和 TGF-β 的变化与 1-OHP 的增加显著相关。结果表明，我们观察到冬季 PAH 暴露显著增加，这与 Treg 细胞功能抑制和氧化 DNA 损伤有关。家庭空气污染中的 PAHs 可能会导致中国西北地区农村妇女的免疫损伤。
