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Differential Cardiopulmonary Effects of Size-Fractionated Ambient Particulate Matter in Mice

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Abstract

A growing body of evidence from epidemiological and toxicological studies provides a strong link between exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) of varying size and increased cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity and mortality. This study was designed to evaluate the cardiopulmonary effects of ambient coarse, fine, and ultrafine particles collected in Chapel Hill, NC. Mice were exposed to each size fraction by oropharyngeal instillation. Twenty-four hours later, pulmonary inflammation was assessed by bronchoalveolar lavage and cardiac injury was measured using a Langendorff cardiac perfusion preparation. Recovery of post-ischemic left ventricular developed pressure and infarct size were measured as indeces of cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury. Coronary flow rate was measured before, during, and after ischemia. We demonstrate that coarse PM caused the most significant pulmonary inflammatory responses. In contrast, hearts from ultrafine-exposed mice had significantly lower post-ischemic functional recovery and greater infarct size, while hearts from coarse and fine PM-exposed mice had no significant responses to ischemia/reperfusion. The coronary flow rate was significantly reduced in the ultrafine PM group. This study shows that exposure of mice to coarse PM results in significant pulmonary toxicity while ultrafine PM appears to enhance cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ms. Mary Daniels, Elizabeth Boykin, Judy Richards and Mr. Richard Jaskot for excellent technical assistance and Mr. James Lehmann for review of this manuscript. The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

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This paper has been reviewed by the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency, and approved for publication. The contents of this article should not be construed to represent Agency policy nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Public Health Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27711, USA

    Haiyan Tong, James M. Samet, M. Ian Gilmour & Robert B. Devlin

  2. School of Public Health, UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA

    Wan-Yun Cheng

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  1. Haiyan Tong
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Correspondence to Haiyan Tong.

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Tong, H., Cheng, WY., Samet, J.M. et al. Differential Cardiopulmonary Effects of Size-Fractionated Ambient Particulate Matter in Mice. Cardiovasc Toxicol 10, 259–267 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12012-010-9082-y

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