Murine lung responses to ambient particulate matter: genomic analysis and influence on airway hyperresponsiveness.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Asthma is a complex disease characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and chronic airway inflammation. Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that exposures to environmental factors such as ambient particulate matter (PM), a major air pollutant, contribute to increased asthma prevalence and exacerbations.

Objective

We investigated pathophysiologic responses to Baltimore, Maryland, ambient PM (median diameter, 1.78 mum) in a murine model of asthma and attempted to identify PM-specific genomic/molecular signatures.

Methods

We exposed ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized A/J mice intratracheally to PM (20 mg/kg), and assayed both AHR and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) on days 1, 4, and 7 after PM exposure. Lung gene expression profiling was analyzed in OVA- and P

SUBMITTER: Wang T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2592270 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature