Abstract
The vocal fold epithelium is exposed to inhaled particulates including pollutants during breathing in everyday environments. Yet, our understanding of the effects of pollutants on vocal fold epithelial function is extremely limited. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the pollutant acrolein on two vocal fold epithelial mechanisms: ion transport and mucin (MUC) synthesis. These mechanisms were chosen as each plays a critical role in vocal defense and in maintaining surface hydration which is necessary for optimal voice production. Healthy, native porcine vocal folds (N = 85) were excised and exposed to an acrolein or sham challenge. A 60-min acrolein, but not sham challenge significantly reduced ion transport and inhibited cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent, increases in ion transport. Decreases in ion transport were associated with reduced sodium absorption. Within the same timeline, no significant acrolein-induced changes in MUC gene or protein expression were observed. These results improve our understanding of the effects of acrolein on key vocal fold epithelial functions and inform the development of future investigations that seek to elucidate the impact of a wide range of pollutant exposures on vocal fold health.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Tracey Wiegand and Carol Bain of the Purdue Histopathology Laboratory for technical assistance during histological preparation and Dr. Paul Snyder for his assistance during pathological scoring. We also thank Drs. Stephen Konieczny and Alyssa Panitch for the use of equipment in their laboratories during various stages of data collection. Porcine larynges were received from Monon Meat Packing, Monon, IN and Beutler’s Meat Processing, Lafayette, IN. This work is based on a thesis by the first author submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree from the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University. This work was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders R01 DC011759, R03 DC008690, and T32 DC009401.
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Levendoski, E.E., Sivasankar, M.P. Vocal Fold Ion Transport and Mucin Expression Following Acrolein Exposure. J Membrane Biol 247, 441–450 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-014-9651-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-014-9651-2