Center for the Studies in Health and Environment, School of Science and Technology, National University of San Martin, Martín de Irigoyen 3100, 1653, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Dentistry, University of Buenos Aires, Marcelo T. de Alvear 2142, C1122AAH, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2019 Sep;26(26):27444-27456. doi: 10.1007/s11356-019-05966-6. Epub 2019 Jul 21.
Air pollution represents a major health problem in megacities, bringing about 8 million deaths every year. The aim of the study was to evaluate in vivo the ocular and respiratory mucosa biological response after chronic exposure to urban air particles from Buenos Aires (UAP-BA). BALB/c mice were exposed to UAP-BA or filtered air for 1, 6, 9, and 12 months. After exposure, histology, histomorphometry, and IL-6 proinflammatory cytokine level were evaluated in the respiratory and ocular mucosa. Total cell number and differential cell count were determined in the brochoalveolar lavage fluid. In the lung, chronic exposure to UAP-BA induced reduction of the alveolar space, polymorhonuclear cell recruitment, and goblet cell hyperplasia. In the ocular surface, UAP-BA induced an initial mucin positive cells rise followed by a decline through time, while IL-6 level increased at the latest point-time assayed. Our results showed that the respiratory and the ocular mucosas respond differently to UAP-BA. Being that lung and ocular mucosa diseases may be triggered and/or exacerbated by chronic exposure to urban air PM, the inhabitants of Buenos Aires whom are chronically exposed to environmental urban air pollution may be considered a subpopulation at risk. Based on our results, we propose the ocular mucosa as a reliable and more accessible surrogate for pulmonary mucosa environmental toxicity that might also serve as an earlier biomarker for air pollution adverse impact on health.
空气污染是特大城市面临的一个主要健康问题，每年导致 800 万人死亡。本研究旨在评估慢性暴露于布宜诺斯艾利斯城市空气颗粒物（UAP-BA）后对眼部和呼吸道黏膜的生物反应。BALB/c 小鼠暴露于 UAP-BA 或过滤空气中 1、6、9 和 12 个月。暴露后，评估呼吸道和眼部黏膜的组织学、组织形态计量学和 IL-6 促炎细胞因子水平。在支气管肺泡灌洗液中测定总细胞数和差异细胞计数。在肺部，慢性暴露于 UAP-BA 可诱导肺泡空间减少、多形核细胞募集和杯状细胞增生。在眼部表面，UAP-BA 诱导粘蛋白阳性细胞最初升高，随后随时间下降，而 IL-6 水平在检测的最新时间点增加。我们的结果表明，呼吸道和眼部黏膜对 UAP-BA 的反应不同。由于肺部和眼部黏膜疾病可能由慢性暴露于城市空气 PM 引发和/或加重，因此长期暴露于环境城市空气污染的布宜诺斯艾利斯居民可能被视为处于危险中的亚群。基于我们的结果，我们提出眼部黏膜作为评估肺部黏膜环境毒性的可靠且更易获取的替代物，也可作为空气污染对健康不良影响的早期生物标志物。
