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Microfluidic analysis of PM2.5-induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition in human bronchial epithelial 16HBE cells

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Abstract

Polluting particulate matter suspended in the air is a leading cause of lung carcinogenesis, a process often accompanied by epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of the bronchial epithelium. By providing a continuous supply of nutrients, microfluidic chips simulate the spatial characteristics of the cellular environment to enable integrated, flexible and high-throughput analysis of cell growth and function. Here, we used a microfluidic chip to evaluate the effects of the air pollutant PM2.5 on EMT in human bronchial epithelial 16HBE cells and on alveolar macrophage chemotaxis. PM2.5 induced NF-κB, PI3K, Snail and N-cadherin levels and repressed E-cadherin levels in 16HBE cells and promoted macrophage chemotaxis. Collectively, our results indicate that PM2.5 causes EMT in bronchial epithelial cells via induction of inflammatory pathways and shed light upon its pathological effects in humans.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grants from the Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 91129733 and 81330060) and Innovative Research Team in University of Ministry of Education of China (No. IRT13049 to Q. Liu).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Department of Respiration, Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116023, People’s Republic of China

    Shuo Cui, Zi-wei Zhu, Zhao Sun, Yi-tong Xu, Jia-liang Wang, Jin-hui Zhang & Qi Wang

  2. Department of Urinary Surgery, The First Hospital Affiliated to Dalian Medical University, Dalian, People’s Republic of China

    Zhong-zhou He

  3. Dalian Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian, 116023, People’s Republic of China

    Yan-ying Bao, De-yu Ji, Shun Liu & Jing-tai Liu

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  1. Shuo Cui
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  2. Zhong-zhou He
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  3. Zi-wei Zhu
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  4. Zhao Sun
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  5. Yi-tong Xu
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  6. Jia-liang Wang
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  8. De-yu Ji
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  9. Shun Liu
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  10. Jing-tai Liu
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  11. Jin-hui Zhang
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  12. Qi Wang
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Correspondence to Qi Wang.

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Shuo Cui and Zhong-zhou He have contributed equally to this work.

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Cui, S., He, Zz., Zhu, Zw. et al. Microfluidic analysis of PM2.5-induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition in human bronchial epithelial 16HBE cells. Microfluid Nanofluid 19, 263–272 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-014-1499-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-014-1499-3

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