Arachidonic acid metabolism and inflammatory biomarkers associated with exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Yan Lin; Xinchen Lu; Xinghua Qiu; Fen Yin; Kym F Faull; Chi-Hong Tseng; Junfeng Jim Zhang; Oliver Fiehn; Tong Zhu; Jesus A Araujo; Yifang Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.113498

Arachidonic acid metabolism and inflammatory biomarkers associated with exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Environ Res. 2022 Sep;212(Pt D):113498. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113498. Epub 2022 May 22.

Authors

Yan Lin¹, Xinchen Lu², Xinghua Qiu³, Fen Yin⁴, Kym F Faull⁵, Chi-Hong Tseng⁴, Junfeng Jim Zhang⁶, Oliver Fiehn⁷, Tong Zhu², Jesus A Araujo⁸, Yifang Zhu⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
² State Key Joint Laboratory for Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, And Center for Environment and Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
³ State Key Joint Laboratory for Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, And Center for Environment and Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China. Electronic address: xhqiu@pku.edu.cn.
⁴ Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
⁵ Pasarow Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
⁶ Global Health Institute, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
⁷ NIH-West Coast Metabolomics Center, University of California, Davis, 451 Health Sciences Drive, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁸ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Molecular Biology Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Electronic address: JAraujo@mednet.ucla.edu.
⁹ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Electronic address: yifang@ucla.edu.

PMID: 35613629
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113498

Abstract

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been associated with systemic inflammation, yet what mechanisms regulate PAHs' inflammatory effects are less understood. This study evaluated the change of arachidonic acid (ARA) metabolites and inflammatory biomarkers in response to increased exposure to PAHs among 26 non-smoking healthy travelers from Los Angeles to Beijing. Traveling from Los Angeles to Beijing significantly increased urinary metabolites of dibenzofuran (800%), fluorene (568%), phenanthrene (277%), and pyrene (176%), accompanied with increased C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, IL-8, and IL-10, and decreased MCP-1, sCD40L, and sCD62P levels in the blood. Meanwhile, the travel increased the levels of ARA lipoxygenase metabolites that were positively associated with a panel of pro-inflammatory biomarkers. Concentrations of cytochrome P450 metabolite were also increased in Beijing and were negatively associated with sCD62P levels. In contrast, concentrations of ARA cyclooxygenase metabolites were decreased in Beijing and were negatively associated with anti-inflammatory IL-10 levels. Changes in both inflammatory biomarkers and ARA metabolites were reversed 4-7 weeks after participants returned to Los Angeles and were associated with urinary PAH metabolites, but not with other exposures such as secondhand smoke, stress, or diet. These results suggested possible roles of ARA metabolic alteration in PAHs-associated inflammatory effects.

Keywords: Air pollution; Arachidonic acid; Biomarker; Eicosanoid; Inflammation; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Arachidonic Acid
Biomarkers / urine
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Humans
Interleukin-10
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / urine

Substances

Air Pollutants
Biomarkers
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Interleukin-10
Arachidonic Acid

Grants and funding

R21 ES024560/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States