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Potential lung carcinogenicity induced by chronic exposure to PM2.5 in the rat

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An Erratum to this article was published on 14 September 2017

This article has been updated

Abstract

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) may increase lung cancer risk, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. This study explored the potential carcinogenicity in rat lung induced by chronic exposure to PM2.5. Adult male rats (200–220 g) were treated with PM2.5 (10 mg/kg body weight) by tracheal perfusion once per week for 1 year; the rats were killed, and expression of tumor markers (carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA)), cancer-related genes, and pathological changes were detected. Chronic treatment with PM2.5 significantly increased SCCA and NSE expression in rat lung tissue and serum. Damaged lung tissue structure was observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Although no evidence of tumors was detected, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, vascular endothelial growth factor, and epidermal growth factor receptor pathways were all activated or overexpressed and likely involved in the potential carcinogenicity in the rat model. Additionally, abnormal expression of the proto-oncogenes c-Myc and K-Ras and tumor suppressor p53 can be seen in lung tissue induced by PM2.5 exposure. Chronic exposure to PM2.5 has the potential to be carcinogenic in rat lung.

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  • 14 September 2017

    An erratum to this article has been published.

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Author notes

  1. Xiaoli Hu, Qingzhao Li, Shifeng Shao, and Qiang Zeng contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Respiratory, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, 54 Anshan Road, Heping District, Tianjin, Tianjin, 300052, China

    Xiaoli Hu & Qi Wu

  2. Department of Respiratory, People’s Hospital of Qitaihe City, 37 Shanhu Road, Qitaihe, Heilongjiang, 154600, China

    Xiaoli Hu

  3. School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, 57 Jianshe Road, Tangshan, Hebei, 063000, China

    Qingzhao Li & Shoufang Jiang

  4. Tianjin Haihe Hospital, Tianjin Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Tianjin, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Shifeng Shao & Qi Wu

  5. Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 Huayue Road, Tianjin, Tianjin, 300011, China

    Qiang Zeng

  6. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tianjin Union Medical Center, 190 Jieyuan Road, Hongqiao District, Tianjin, Tianjin, 300121, China

    Chunyang Jiang

Authors
  1. Xiaoli Hu
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Contributions

C.Y.J., Q.W., X.L.H., S.F.J., and Q.Z.L. conceived, designed, and carried out the experiments, analyzed the experimental data, and wrote the paper; C.Y.J., Q.W., and Q.Z.L. guided the experiments. S.F.S. and Q.Z. also performed experiments and prepared figures and table; N.Y. and M.M.H. also performed experiments; C.Y.J. and Q.W. supervised and directed the project. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript and reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Shoufang Jiang, Qi Wu or Chunyang Jiang.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

This work was supported by grant from the Tianjin Health and Family Planning Commission of Science and Technology Project Foundation (No. 16KG153).

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

An erratum to this article is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0173-1.

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Hu, X., Li, Q., Shao, S. et al. Potential lung carcinogenicity induced by chronic exposure to PM2.5 in the rat. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 18991–19000 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9430-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9430-6

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