Clin Res Cardiol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00392-023-02180-w

Adverse health effects of combined exposure to urban particulate matter and aircraft noise in mice – insights from the cerebro-pulmonary-cardiovascular axis
M. Kuntic1, I. Kuntic1, R. Krishnankutty2, A. Gericke3, M. Oelze1, T. Junglas1, M. T. Bayo Jimenez1, P. Stamm1, M. Nandudu1, O. Hahad1, K. Keppeler1, S. Daub1, K. Vujacic-Mirski1, S. Rajlic4, L. Strohm1, H. Ubbens1, Q. Tang3, S. Jiang3, R. Yue3, K. G. Macleod2, S. Steven1, T. Berkemeier5, U. Pöschl5, J. Lelieveld6, H. Kleinert7, A. Von Kriegsheim2, A. Daiber8, T. Münzel1
1Zentrum für Kardiologie, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz; 2Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; 3Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz; 4Klinik und Poliklinik für Herz-, Thorax- und Gefäßchirurgie, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz; 5Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz; 6Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz; 7Department for Pharmacology, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz; 8Labor für Molekulare Kardiologie, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz;

Worldwide, up to 8.8 million excess deaths/year have been attributed to air pollution, mainly due to the exposure to fine particulate matter (PM). Also traffic-related noise is a major contributor to global mortality and morbidity. Both risk factors substantially contribute to cardiovascular, metabolic and neuropsychiatric sequelae of the global population. Studies on the combined exposure are rare and urgently needed because of frequent co-occurrence of both risk factors in urban and industrial settings. To probe the synergistic effects of PM and noise, we used an exposure system equipped with an aerosol generator and loud-speakers, where C57BL/6 mice were acutely exposed for 3d to either ambient PM (NIST particles) and/or noise (aircraft landing and take-off events). The combination of both stressors caused endothelial dysfunction, increased blood pressure, oxidative stress and inflammation. An additive impairment of endothelial function was observed in isolated aortic rings as well as even more pronounced in cerebral and retinal arterioles. The increase in oxidative stress and inflammation markers together with RNA sequencing data indicate that noise particularly affects the brain and PM the lungs. The combination of both stressors has additive adverse effects on the cardiovascular system that are based on PM-induced systemic inflammation and noise-triggered stress hormone signaling. In the lung, additive upregulation of ACE-2 may increase the risk of a severe COVID-19 infection. The data warrant further mechanistic studies to characterize the propagation of primary target tissue damage (lung, brain) to remote organs such as aorta and heart by combined noise and PM exposure.


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