Project description:Human A549 lung epithelial cells were exposed directly at the air-liquid interphase towards combustion aerosols of wood burning. The goal was to compare the responses towards different wood and burning conditions. Beech log woods were burnt in a modern masonry heater, soft wood pellets were burnt in a pellet boiler.
Project description:Smoking cigarettes is harmful to the cardiovascular system. Considerable attention has been paid to the reduced harm potential of alternative nicotine-containing inhalable products such as e-cigarettes. We investigated the effects of E-vapor aerosols or cigarette smoke (CS) on atherosclerosis progression, cardiovascular function, and molecular changes in the heart and aorta of female ApoE−/− mice. The mice were exposed to aerosols from three different E-vapor formulations: (1) carrier (propylene glycol and vegetable glycerol), (2) base (carrier and nicotine) or (3) test (base and flavor) or to CS from 3R4F reference cigarettes for up to 6 months. Concentrations of CS and base or test aerosols were matched at 35 µg nicotine/L. Exposure to CS, compared with sham-exposed fresh air controls, accelerated atherosclerotic plaque formation, while no such effect was seen for any of the three E-vapor aerosols. Molecular changes indicated disease mechanisms related to oxidative stress and inflammation in general, plus changes in calcium regulation, and altered cytoskeletal organization and microtubule dynamics in the left ventricle. While ejection fraction, fractional shortening, cardiac output, and isovolumic contraction time remained unchanged following E-vapor aerosols exposure, the nicotine-containing base and test aerosols caused an increase in isovolumic relaxation time similar to CS. A nicotine-related increase in pulse wave velocity and arterial stiffness was also observed, but it was significantly lower for base and test aerosols than for CS. These results demonstrate that in comparison with CS, E-vapor aerosols induce substantially lower biological responses associated with smoking-related cardiovascular diseases.
Project description:Via extensive comparative analysis of 3D human bronchial epithelial model (MucilAirTM) exposed to air or CuO-based aerosols, we show that existence of asthma enhances sensitivity of the airways to nanoparticles, possibly as a combined result of a hyperactive airway and inefficient mucociliary clearance mechanisms in asthmatics.
Project description:Purpose: The goal of this study is to compare endothelial small RNA transcriptome to identify the target of OASL under basal or stimulated conditions by utilizing miRNA-seq. Methods: Endothelial miRNA profilies of siCTL or siOASL transfected HUVECs were generated by illumina sequencing method, in duplicate. After sequencing, the raw sequence reads are filtered based on quality. The adapter sequences are also trimmed off the raw sequence reads. rRNA removed reads are sequentially aligned to reference genome (GRCh38) and miRNA prediction is performed by miRDeep2. Results: We identified known miRNA in species (miRDeep2) in the HUVECs transfected with siCTL or siOASL. The expression profile of mature miRNA is used to analyze differentially expressed miRNA(DE miRNA). Conclusions: Our study represents the first analysis of endothelial miRNA profiles affected by OASL knockdown with biologic replicates.
Project description:A cDNA library was constructed by Novogene (CA, USA) using a Small RNA Sample Pre Kit, and Illumina sequencing was conducted according to company workflow, using 20 million reads. Raw data were filtered for quality as determined by reads with a quality score > 5, reads containing N < 10%, no 5' primer contaminants, and reads with a 3' primer and insert tag. The 3' primer sequence was trimmed and reads with a poly A/T/G/C were removed
Project description:Nanopesticides (NPe) are innovative pesticides involving engineered nanomaterials (ENM) to increase the efficiency of plant protection products. However, no toxicological data is available on their inhalation toxicity and the potential cocktail effects between pesticide active substances and ENM. In particular, the neurodevelopmental toxicity of prenatal repeated exposures has not been specifically evaluated. To this end, C57Bl/6j gestating mice were exposed to aerosols in an ad hoc whole-body exposure chamber. Exposures consisted in low repeated doses of the paraquat herbicide (PQ), and/or TiO2 nanoparticles (nTiO2). The monitoring of aerosol characteristics, in addition to their prior metrological characterization, enabled a precise estimation of the exposure doses received by animals, which can be extrapolated to the recommended exposure limit proposed by health agencies. We used RNA-seq to assess the gene expression in pups striatum at post-natal stage, in order to highlight possible neurodevelopmental alterations. This sensitive method revealed that both PQ and nTiO2 aerosols had a significant effect on the gene expression of the offspring, highlighting dysregulations of oligodendrocyte differentiation and neuronal maturation. Exposure to the nTiO2 aerosol modulated notably the regulation of neurotransmitters pathway being possibly indirect consequences of a minor change in the neuroinflammation state. No synergy was found between the PQ + nTiO2. Instead, the neurodevelopmental effects were surprisingly lower than the one measured for each substance separately.