Correlation of in Vitro Cytokine Responses with the Chemical Composition of Soil-Derived Particulate Matter

• Published in: Environmental health perspectives Vol. 114; no. 3; pp. 341 - 349
• Main Authors: Veranth, John M., Moss, Tyler A., Chow, Judith C., Labban, Raed, Nichols, William K., Walton, John C., Watson, John G., Yost, Garold S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. National Institutes of Health. Department of Health, Education and Welfare 01-03-2006; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
• Subjects: Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollutants - toxicity; Air pollution; Carbon; Carbon - analysis; Cell culture techniques; Cell Line; Cell Survival - drug effects; Chemical composition; Composite particles; Correlation; Cytokines; Dust; Dust - analysis; Environmental Monitoring; Epithelial cells; Epithelial Cells - drug effects; Epithelial Cells - metabolism; Health; Humans; In vitro testing; Interleukin-6 - biosynthesis; Interleukin-8 - biosynthesis; Lungs; Manganese - analysis; Manganese - toxicity; Monitoring; Networks; Particulate matter; Populations; Redundancy; Regression; Regression analysis; Roads; Secretions; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Soil Pollutants - toxicity; Soil samples; Soils; Speciation; Viability; USA
• ISSN: 0091-6765; 1552-9924
• DOI: 10.1289/ehp.8360

We treated human lung epithelial cells, type BEAS-2B, with 10-80 μ g/ cm2 of dust from soils and road surfaces in the western United States that contained particulate matter (PM) < 2.5 μm aerodynamic diameter. Cell viability and cytokine secretion responses were measured at 24 hr. Each dust sample is a complex mixture containing particles from different minerals mixed with biogenic and anthropogenic materials. We determined the particle chemical composition using methods based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Speciation Trends Network (STN) and the National Park Service Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) network. The functionally defined carbon fractions reported by the ambient monitoring networks have not been widely used for toxicology studies. The soil-derived PM2.5 from different sites showed a wide range of potency for inducing the release of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8 in vitro. Univariate regression and multivariate redundancy analysis were used to test for correlation of viability and cytokine release with the concentrations of 40 elements, 7 ions, and 8 carbon fractions. The particles showed positive correlation between IL-6 release and the elemental and pyrolyzable carbon fractions, and the strongest correlation involving crustal elements was between IL-6 release and the aluminum:silicon ratio. The observed correlations between low-volatility organic components of soil- and road-derived dusts and the cytokine release by BEAS-2B cells are relevant for investigation of mechanisms linking specific air pollution particle types with the initiating events leading to airway inflammation in sensitive populations.