Department of Immunology and Nano-Medicine, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
Research and Development, Molekule Group, Inc., 3802 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
Sci Rep. 2023 Jul 6;13(1):10980. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38155-0.
Portable air purifiers help improve indoor air quality by neutralizing allergens, including animal dander proteins. However, there are limited in-vivo models to assess the efficacy of these devices. Here, we developed a novel animal model of experimental asthma using aerosolized cat dander extract (CDE) exposure and compared the efficacy of select air purification technologies. Mice were exposed to CDE aerosols for 6 weeks in separate custom-built whole-body exposure chambers equipped with either a photoelectrochemical oxidative (PECO) Molekule filtration device (PFD) or a HEPA-assisted air filtration device (HFD) along with positive (a device with no filtration capability) and negative controls. Compared to the positive control group, the CDE-induced airway resistance, and plasma IgE and IL-13 levels were significantly reduced in both air purifier groups. However, PFD mice showed a better attenuation of lung tissue mucous hyperplasia and eosinophilia than HFD and positive control mice, indicating a better efficacy in managing CDE-induced allergic responses. Cat dander protein destruction was evaluated by LCMS proteomic analysis, which revealed the degradation of 2731 unique peptides on PECO media in 1 h. Thus, allergen protein destruction on filtration media enhances air purifier efficacy that could provide relief from allergy responses compared to traditional HEPA-based filtration alone.
便携式空气净化器通过中和过敏原（包括动物皮屑蛋白）来帮助改善室内空气质量。然而，目前评估这些设备功效的体内模型有限。在这里，我们使用雾化的猫皮屑提取物（CDE）暴露建立了一种新的实验性哮喘动物模型，并比较了几种空气净化技术的功效。将小鼠分别暴露于配备有光电化学氧化（PECO）Molekule 过滤装置（PFD）或高效空气过滤辅助空气过滤装置（HFD）以及阳性（无过滤能力的装置）和阴性对照装置的定制全身暴露室中的 CDE 气溶胶中 6 周。与阳性对照组相比，在空气净化器组中，CDE 诱导的气道阻力以及血浆 IgE 和 IL-13 水平均显著降低。然而，与 HFD 和阳性对照组相比，PFD 组的肺组织黏液增生和嗜酸性粒细胞增多的减轻程度更好，表明其在管理 CDE 诱导的过敏反应方面的效果更好。通过 LCMS 蛋白质组学分析评估了猫皮屑蛋白的破坏情况，结果显示在 1 小时内 PECO 介质上破坏了 2731 个独特的肽。因此，过滤介质上过敏原蛋白的破坏增强了空气净化器的功效，与传统的基于 HEPA 的过滤相比，可缓解过敏反应。
