Air pollution poses a significant global health risk, with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) such as diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) being of particular concern due to their potential to drive systemic toxicities through bloodstream infiltration. The association between PM2.5 exposure and an increased prevalence of metabolic disorders, including obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is evident against a backdrop of rising global obesity and poor metabolic health. This paper examines the role of adipose tissue in mediating the effects of PM2.5 on metabolic health. Adipose tissue, beyond its energy storage function, is responsive to inhaled noxious stimuli, thus disrupting metabolic homeostasis and responding to particulate exposure with pro-inflammatory cytokine release, contributing to systemic inflammation. The purpose of this study was to characterize the metabolic response of adipose tissue in mice exposed to either DEPs or room air (RA), exploring both the adipokine profile and mitochondrial bioenergetics. In addition to a slight change in fat mass and a robust shift in adipocyte hypertrophy in the DEP-exposed animals, we found significant changes in adipose mitochondrial bioenergetics. Furthermore, the DEP-exposed animals had a significantly higher expression of adipose inflammatory markers compared with the adipose from RA-exposed mice. Despite the nearly exclusive focus on dietary factors in an effort to better understand metabolic health, these results highlight the novel role of environmental factors that may contribute to the growing global burden of poor metabolic health.
Keywords: adipose tissue dysfunction; environmental pollution; mitochondrial dysfunction; systemic inflammation.