Comparison of lung damage in mice exposed to black carbon particles and 1,4-naphthoquinone coated black carbon particles

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.214
• Publication Date: 2016-12-27T06:02:39Z
• Authors: Hongqian Chu; Jing Shang; Ming Jin; Yueyue Chen; Yao Pan; Yuan Li; Xi Tao; Zhiyuan Cheng; Qinghe Meng; Qian Li; Guang Jia; Tong Zhu; Weidong Hao; Xuetao Wei
• Keywords: Inflammation; Air Pollutants; Interleukins; 01 natural sciences; Carbon; 3. Good health; Mice; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Soot; Animals; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; Lung; Naphthoquinones; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Black carbon (BC) is a key component of atmospheric particles and has a significant effect on human health. BC can provide reactive sites and surfaces thus absorb quinones which were primarily generated from fossil fuel combustion and/or atmospheric photochemical conversions of PAHs. Oxidation could change the characteristics of BC and increase its toxicity. The comparison of lung damage in mice exposed to BC and 1,4-NQ-coated BC (1,4NQ-BC) particles is investigated in this study. Mice which were intratracheally instilled with particles have a higher expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-33 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Also, the IL-6, IL-33 mRNA expression in the lung tissue of mice instilled with 1,4NQ-BC were higher than that of mice instilled with BC. The pathology results showed that the lung tissue of mice instilled with 1,4NQ-BC particles have much more inflammatory cells infiltration than that of mice treated with BC. It is believed that the MAPK and PI3K-AKT pathway might be involved in the 1,4NQ-BC particles caused lung damage. Results indicated that 1,4NQ-BC particles in the atmosphere may cause more damage to health.