Particulate Matter and Oxidative Stress – Pulmonary and Cardiovascular Targets and Consequences

Abstract

From episodic crises and epidemiological studies of the past decades, air pollution is identified as the most important environmental determinant of human health, and this is supported by experimental studies in animals. Findings of these studies indicate that short- and long-term exposure to air pollution increases the risk for lung cancer, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders, all of which cause morbidity and mortality in humans. Polluted air is a complex mixture of gases (e.g., carbon monoxide and dioxide, ozone, nitric oxide, sulfur- and nitrogen dioxide), volatiles (e.g., hydrocarbons, aldehydes), and particulate matter, which affect multiple organ systems and cell types, leading to a variety of negative health consequences. The adverse health effects of air pollution appear to be, in part, mechanistically driven by the induction of both pulmonary and systemic oxidative stress. Many exposure studies using a variety of techniques have demonstrated increased oxidative stress in pulmonary and cardiovascular compartments that trigger lipid peroxidation and downstream inflammatory signaling. In this chapter, we review the evidence linking air pollutant-induced oxidative stress with specific pulmonary and cardiovascular outcomes of air pollution.