Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jun 26;17(12):4599. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17124599.
In order to study the toxicity of fine particulate matter (PM) sourced from different seasons on human health, we collected PM samples quarterly from March 2016 to February 2017 in Nanjing, China. The component analysis results showed that high proportions of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), SO, Ca and Mg were found in the summer samples, while high proportions of NO, NH and heavy metals were observed in the spring and winter samples. Then human lung epithelial cells (A549) were exposed to the PM samples. The toxicological results indicated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the spring and winter samples was higher than that in the summer and fall samples, which was related to the contribution of some heavy metals and inorganic ions (e.g., Pb and NO). However, the apoptosis rates of the cells showed the opposite seasonal changes as what the ROS did, which might be caused by the higher WSOC content in the summer. In addition, regression analysis also showed the importance of the PM components in ROS production and apoptosis. Particularly, Zn had the strongest correlation with ROS production (R = 0.863) and cell apoptosis (R = 0.675); thus, the specific toxicity of Zn in PM deserves further investigation. Our results could be beneficial for assessing the health risks and controlling the toxic components of PM in Nanjing.
为了研究不同季节来源的细颗粒物（PM）对人体健康的毒性，我们于 2016 年 3 月至 2017 年 2 月在中国南京每季度采集 PM 样品。成分分析结果表明，夏季样品中水溶性有机碳（WSOC）、SO、Ca 和 Mg 的比例较高，而春季和冬季样品中则观察到较高比例的 NO、NH 和重金属。然后，将人肺上皮细胞（A549）暴露于 PM 样品中。毒理学结果表明，春季和冬季样品中活性氧（ROS）的产生高于夏季和秋季样品，这与一些重金属和无机离子（如 Pb 和 NO）的贡献有关。然而，细胞的凋亡率与 ROS 的变化相反，这可能是由于夏季 WSOC 含量较高所致。此外，回归分析还表明 PM 成分在 ROS 产生和细胞凋亡中的重要性。特别是 Zn 与 ROS 产生（R = 0.863）和细胞凋亡（R = 0.675）具有最强的相关性；因此，PM 中 Zn 的特定毒性值得进一步研究。我们的研究结果有助于评估南京地区 PM 的健康风险和控制有毒成分。
