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Fine particulate matter alters the microecology of the murine respiratory tract

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Abstract

Fine particulate matter is a global challenge to human health. We investigated the effects and potential mechanisms of fine particulate matter on respiratory tract microecology in a lung injury mouse model. BALB/c mice were randomized into exposed and control groups. We found that the levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor I was increased following the PM2.5 exposure. 16S rRNA sequencing of respiratory tract lavage fluid confirmed that the composition of the respiratory tract microecology was altered by the exposure. Lactobacillus was the most abundant of bacterial species present. Collectively, these results establish a link between exposure to fine particulate matter and alterations to the respiratory tract microecology. Elucidation of the underlying mechanisms may lead to treatment strategies in lung injury.

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Abbreviations

PM2.5:

fine particulate matter

rRNA:

ribosomal RNA

H&E:

hematoxylin and eosin

EtOH:

ethanol

PCR:

polymerase chain reaction

RDP classifier:

Ribosomal Database Project classifier

OTU:

operational taxonomic unit

PCA:

principal component analysis

PCoA:

principal coordinates analysis

UPGMA:

unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means

sTNF-RI:

soluble tumor necrosis factor type I

KEGG:

Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes

TNF:

tumor necrosis factor

kD:

kilodalton

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Author contributions statement

BY and CX contributed conception and design of the study; BY carried out all experimental assays. YZ and BL performed the statistical analysis; BY wrote the first draft of the manuscript; BY, YZ, YZ, and BL wrote sections of the manuscript. All authors contributed to manuscript revision and read and approved the submitted version.

Funding

The work was supported by the research funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 30872083) and Liaoning Science and Technology Project (grant no. 2017225076).

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Correspondence to Chunling Xiao.

Ethics declarations

All studies were performed according to protocols reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Animal Care and Experimentation of the National Institute for Environmental Studies, China.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Yang, B., Zhang, Y., Li, B. et al. Fine particulate matter alters the microecology of the murine respiratory tract. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 8623–8632 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04372-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04372-2

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