An Exploratory Study of the Relationships Between Diesel Engine Exhaust Particle Inhalation, Pulmonary Inflammation and Anxious Behavior

Sunyoung Jeong, Jong-Hwa Lee, Jung-Heun Ha, Jinhee Kim, Inyong Kim and Sungryong Bae
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Sunyoung Jeong: Department of Human and Environmental Toxicology, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34114, Korea
Jong-Hwa Lee: Bioanalytical and Pharmacokinetic Research Group, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Daejeon 34114, Korea
Jung-Heun Ha: Research Center for Industrialization of Natural Neutralization, Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, Korea
Jinhee Kim: Drug Information Platform Center, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Korea
Inyong Kim: Research Center for Industrialization of Natural Neutralization, Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, Korea
Sungryong Bae: Department of Fire Protection and Disaster Management, Chosun University, Gwangju 61452, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: Recent technical developments brought negative side effects such as air pollution and large-scale fires, increasingly exposing people to diesel engine exhaust particles (DEP). Testing how DEP inhalation triggers pathophysiology in animal models could be useful in determining how it affects humans. To this end, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pulmonary exposure to DEP for seven consecutive days in experimental male C5BL6/N mice. Twenty-four C5BL6/N mice were treated with one of the three test materials: distilled water for control, a low DEP exposure (5 mg/kg), or a high DEP exposure (15 mg/kg). Exposure to DEP induced decreased body weight; however, it gradually increased pulmonary weight in a DEP-dose-dependent manner. DEP exposure significantly elevated soot accumulation in the lungs, with the alteration of pulmonary homeostasis. It also elevated infiltrated immune cells, thus significantly increasing inflammatory cytokine mRNA and protein production in the lungs and broncho-alveolar lavage fluid, respectively. Pulmonary DEP exposure also altered behavioral responses in the open field test (OFT). Low exposure elevated moving distance and speed, while significantly decreasing the number of trials to enter the central zone. Different concentrations of DEP resulted in different behavioral changes; however, while anxiety levels increased, their degree was independent of DEP concentrations. Results suggest that DEP exposure may possess pro-inflammatory responses in the lungs and trigger anxiety.

Keywords: diesel engine exhaust particles; soot; pulmonary inflammation; open field test; anxiety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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