PM2.5 exposure promotes asthma in aged Brown-Norway rats: Implication of multiomics analysis

Lianlian Zhao; Baicun Li; Li Zhou; Chenchen Song; Taisheng Kang; Yanfeng Xu; Yunpeng Liu; Yunlin Han; Wenjie Zhao; Hongliang Jia; Boxiang Zhang; Jianguo Guo

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115393

PM_2.5 exposure promotes asthma in aged Brown-Norway rats: Implication of multiomics analysis

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2023 Sep 15:263:115393. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115393. Epub 2023 Aug 22.

Authors

Lianlian Zhao¹, Baicun Li², Li Zhou³, Chenchen Song³, Taisheng Kang³, Yanfeng Xu³, Yunpeng Liu³, Yunlin Han³, Wenjie Zhao³, Hongliang Jia⁴, Boxiang Zhang⁴, Jianguo Guo⁵

Affiliations

¹ NHC Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, CAMS&PUMC, Key Laboratory of Human Diseases Animal Model, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100021, China; Institute of Environmental Systems Biology, Environment Science and Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, 116026, China.
² Center of Respiratory Medicine, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, National Center for Respiratory Medicine Laboratories, Institute of Respiratory Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
³ NHC Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, CAMS&PUMC, Key Laboratory of Human Diseases Animal Model, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100021, China.
⁴ Institute of Environmental Systems Biology, Environment Science and Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, 116026, China.
⁵ NHC Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, CAMS&PUMC, Key Laboratory of Human Diseases Animal Model, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100021, China. Electronic address: mybestguo@163.com.

PMID: 37611479
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115393

Abstract

Children are disproportionately represented among those who suffer asthma, which is a kind of chronic airway inflammation. Asthma symptoms might worsen when exposed to the air pollutant particulate matter 2.5 (PM_2.5). However, it is becoming more prevalent among older adults, with more asthma-related deaths occurring in this pollution than in any other age group, and symptoms caused by asthma can reduce the quality of life of the elderly, whose asthma is underdiagnosed due to physiological factors. Therefore, in an effort to discover a therapy for older asthma during exposure to air pollution, we sought to ascertain the effects of pre-exposure (PA) and persistent exposure (PAP) to PM_2.5 in aged asthma rats. In this study, we exposed aged rats to PM_2.5 at different times (PA and PAP) and established an ovalbumin-mediated allergic asthma model. The basic process of elderly asthma caused by PM_2.5 exposure was investigated by lung function detection, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), histopathology, cytology, cytokine microarray, untargeted metabolomics, and gut microbiota analysis. Our findings demonstrated that in the PA and PAP groups, exposure to PM_2.5 reduced lung function and exacerbated lung tissue damage, with varying degrees of effect on immunoglobulin levels, the findings of a cytological analysis, cytokines, and chemokines. The PA and PAP rats had higher amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as naphthalene, 2-methylNaphthalene, 1-methylNaphthalene and flourene. Moreover, exposure to PM_2.5 at different times showed different effects on plasma metabolism and gut microbiota. Bioinformatics analysis showed a strong correlation between PAHs, cytokines, and gut microbiota, and PAHs may cause metabolic disorders through the gut microbiota. These findings point to a possible mechanism for the development of asthma in older people exposure to PM_2.5 that may be related to past interactions between PAHs, cytokines, gut microbiota, and plasma metabolites.

Keywords: Asthma; Cytokines; Gut microbiota; PM(2.5) exposure; Plasma metabolism.

MeSH terms

Animals
Asthma* / chemically induced
Cytokines
Inflammation
Multiomics
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons*
Quality of Life
Rats

Substances

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Cytokines