18 Can the Indoor Environment Influence the Toxicity of Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution Particulates?

Abstract

When considering air pollution particles (AP), they are often assessed in isolation, when this is not how the population is exposed to them. Within the indoor environment, there are bioaerosols present, which contain various allergens including house dust mite (HDM) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS). This RESPIRE study aims to apply a well-characterised in vitro model of the alveolar barrier (type I and II epithelial cells (NCI-H441 and hAELVi at relevant in vivo ratios) and macrophage-like cells) to determine the effects of these bioaerosols on the toxicological and immunological responses to AP. To achieve this, we will investigate cytotoxicity, inflammatory responses, morphology, oxidative stress, membrane integrity and genetic toxicology of these models with specific focus on responses from human allergic responses and airway diseases (i.e., bronchiolitis-interstitial lung disease and sarcoidosis) to determine the additional health considerations the addition of bioaerosols to AP has on our models. We will utilise a physiologically relevant aerosolization exposure method) and a standardised indoor (NIST2583) particulate at an environmentally relevant concentration to mimic air pollution along with HDM and LPS to determine if the addition of these environmentally appropriate bioaerosols influence the responses to IAP. This project is funded by the recently initiated RESPIRE project (NE/W002264/1), as part of the SPF Clean Air Programme.