Cross-Omics Analyses Reveal the Effects of Ambient PM Exposure on Hepatic Metabolism in Female Mice.

Ambient particulate matter (PM) is a potential risk factor for metabolic damage to the liver. Epidemiological studies suggest that elevated PM concentrations cause changes in hepatic metabolism, but there is a lack of laboratory evidence. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of PM exposure on liver metabolism in C57BL/6j female mice (10 months old) and to explore the mechanisms underlying metabolic alterations and differential gene expressions by combining metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses. The metabolomics results showed that PM exposure notably affected the metabolism of amino acids and organic acids and caused hepatic lipid and bile acid accumulation. The transcriptomic analyses revealed that PM exposure led to a series of metabolic pathway abnormalities, including steroid biosynthesis, steroid hormone biosynthesis, primary bile acid biosynthesis, etc. Among them, the changes in the bile acid pathway might be one of the causes of liver damage in mice. In conclusion, this study clarified the changes in liver metabolism in mice caused by PM exposure through combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses, revealed that abnormal bile acid metabolism is the key regulatory mechanism leading to metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in mice, and provided laboratory evidence for further clarifying the effects of PM on body metabolism.