Sources, chemical components, and toxicological responses of size segregated urban air PM samples in high air pollution season in Guangzhou, China

Mo Yang; Hui-Xian Zeng; Xin-Feng Wang; Henri Hakkarainen; Ari Leskinen; Mika Komppula; Marjut Roponen; Qi-Zhen Wu; Shu-Li Xu; Li-Zi Lin; Ru-Qing Liu; Li-Wen Hu; Bo-Yi Yang; Xiao-Wen Zeng; Guang-Hui Dong; Pasi Jalava

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161092

Sources, chemical components, and toxicological responses of size segregated urban air PM samples in high air pollution season in Guangzhou, China

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Mar 20:865:161092. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161092. Epub 2022 Dec 29.

Authors

Mo Yang¹, Hui-Xian Zeng², Xin-Feng Wang³, Henri Hakkarainen⁴, Ari Leskinen⁵, Mika Komppula⁶, Marjut Roponen⁴, Qi-Zhen Wu², Shu-Li Xu², Li-Zi Lin², Ru-Qing Liu², Li-Wen Hu², Bo-Yi Yang², Xiao-Wen Zeng², Guang-Hui Dong⁷, Pasi Jalava⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental and Biological Science, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland; Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
³ Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China.
⁴ Department of Environmental and Biological Science, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
⁵ Finnish Meteorological Institute, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland; Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
⁶ Finnish Meteorological Institute, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
⁷ Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. Electronic address: donggh5@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36586693
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161092

Abstract

The sources, sizes, components, and toxicological responses of particulate matter (PM) have demonstrated remarkable spatiotemporal variability. However, associations between components, sources, and toxicological effects in different-sized PM remain unclear. The purposes of this study were to 1) determine the sources of PM chemical components, 2) investigate the associations between components and toxicology of PM from Guangzhou high air pollution season. We collected size-segregated PM samples (PM_10-2.5, PM_2.5-1, PM_1-0.2, PM_0.2) from December 2017 to March 2018 in Guangzhou. PM sources and components were analyzed. RAW264.7 mouse macrophages were treated with PM samples for 24 h followed by measurements of toxicological responses. The concentrations of PM₁₀_-_2.5 and PM₁_-_0.2 were relatively high in all samples. Water-soluble ions and PAHs were more abundant in smaller-diameter PM, while metallic elements were more enriched in larger-diameter PM. Traffic exhaust, soil dust, and biomass burning/petrochemical were the most important sources of PAHs, metals and ions, respectively. The main contributions to PM were soil dust, coal combustion, and biomass burning/petrochemical. Exposure to PM₁₀_-_2.5 induced the most significant reduction of cell mitochondrial activity, oxidative stress and inflammatory response, whereas DNA damage, an increase of Sub G1/G0 population, and impaired cell membrane integrity were most evident with PM₁_-_0.2 exposure. There were moderate or strong correlations between most single chemicals and almost all toxicological endpoints as well as between various toxicological outcomes. Our findings highlight those various size-segregated PM-induced toxicological effects in cells, and identify chemical components and sources of PM that play the key role in adverse intracellular responses. Although fine and ultrafine PM have attracted much attention, the inflammatory damage caused by coarse PM cannot be ignored.

Keywords: Chemical components; Sources; Toxicological responses; Urban air PM.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollutants* / toxicity
Air Pollution* / adverse effects
Air Pollution* / analysis
Animals
China
Dust / analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Mice
Particle Size
Particulate Matter* / analysis
Particulate Matter* / toxicity
Seasons

Substances

Air Pollutants
Dust
Particulate Matter