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Use of Untargeted Metabolomics to Explore the Air Pollution-Related Disease Continuum

  • Susceptibility Factors in Environmental Health (Z Liew and K Pollitt, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review is to summarize the application of untargeted metabolomics to identify the perturbation of metabolites or metabolic pathways associated with air pollutant exposures.

Recent Findings

Twenty-three studies were included in this review, in adults, children, or pregnant women. The most commonly measured air pollutant is particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm. Size-fractioned particles, particle chemical species, gas pollutants, or organic compounds were also investigated. The reviewed studies used a wide range of air pollution measurement techniques and metabolomics analyses. Identified metabolites were primarily related to oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, and a few were related to the alterations of steroid metabolic pathways. The observed metabolic perturbations can differ by disease status, sex, and age. Air pollution-related metabolic changes were also associated with health outcomes in some studies.

Summary

Our review shows that air pollutant exposures are associated with metabolic pathways primarily related to oxidative stress, inflammation, as assessed through untargeted metabolomics in 23 studies. More metabolomic studies with larger sample sizes are needed to identify air pollution components most responsible for adverse health effects, elaborate on mechanisms for subpopulation susceptibility, and link air pollution exposure to specific adverse health effects.

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Abbreviations

COPD:

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

IHD:

ischemic heart disease

TRAP:

traffic-related air pollution

O3 :

ozone

PAHs:

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PM:

particulate matter

CO:

carbon monoxide

NOx:

nitrogen oxides

PM2.5 :

particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm

PM10 :

particulate matter with diameter ≤ 10 μm

UFP:

ultrafine particles (particulate matter of nanoscale size, < 0.1 μm)

PM2.5–10 :

particulate matter with a diameter between 2.5 and 10 μm

TSP:

total suspended particles

Pb-PAH:

particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PNC:

particle number concentration

BC:

black carbon

EC:

elemental carbon

OC:

organic carbon

LDSA:

lung deposited surface area

V:

vanadium

1-OHP:

1-hydroxypyrene

LC-MS:

liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry

HILIC:

hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography

GC-MS:

gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry

C18:

C18 hydrophobic reversed-phase chromatography

ESI:

electrospray ionization

TOF:

time-of-flight

HMBD:

Human Metabolome Database

KEGG:

Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes

LC-MS/MS:

liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

PLS-DA:

partial least squares discriminant analysis

OPLS-DA:

orthogonal PLS-DA

ANOVA:

analysis of variance

ANCOVA:

analysis of covariance

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

PUFA:

polyunsaturated fatty acids

13-HODE:

13-hydroperoxyoctadecadenoic acid

4-HNE:

4-hydroxynonenal

FEV1:

forced expiratory volume in 1 s

Pb-PAHs:

particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

AOA:

adult-onset asthma

CCVD:

cardio-cerebrovascular diseases

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Caroline H. Johnson and Yawei Zhang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, USA

    Lan Jin & Yawei Zhang

  2. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, USA

    Krystal J. Godri Pollitt, Zeyan Liew, Ana K. Rosen Vollmar, Vasilis Vasiliou, Caroline H. Johnson & Yawei Zhang

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  1. Lan Jin
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  2. Krystal J. Godri Pollitt
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Correspondence to Lan Jin.

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Jin, L., Godri Pollitt, K.J., Liew, Z. et al. Use of Untargeted Metabolomics to Explore the Air Pollution-Related Disease Continuum. Curr Envir Health Rpt 8, 7–22 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-020-00298-x

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