Exposure to ambient particulate matter alters the microbial composition and induces immune changes in rat lung.
BACKGROUND
Ambient particulate matter exposure has been shown to increase the risks of respiratory diseases. However, the role of the lung microbiome and the immune response to inhaled particulate matter are largely unexplored. We studied the influence of biomass fuel and motor vehicle exhaust particles on the lung microbiome and pulmonary immunologic homeostasis in rats.


METHODS
Fifty-seven Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into clean air (CON), biomass fuel (BMF), and motor vehicle exhaust (MVE) groups. After a 4-week exposure, the microbial composition of the lung was assessed by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing, the structure of the lung tissue was assessed with histological analysis, the phagocytic response of alveolar macrophages to bacteria was determined by flow cytometry, and immunoglobulin concentrations were measured with commercial ELISA kits.


RESULTS
There was no significant difference in lung morphology between the groups. However, the BMF and MVE groups displayed greater bacterial abundance and diversity. Proteobacteria were present in higher proportions in the MVE group, and 12 bacterial families differed in their relative abundances between the three groups. In addition, particulate matter exposure significantly increased the capacity of alveolar macrophages to phagocytose bacteria and induced changes in immunoglobulin levels.


CONCLUSION
We demonstrated that particulate matter exposure can alter the microbial composition and change the pulmonary immunologic homeostasis in the rat lung.
['Li|Naijian|N|', 'He|Fang|F|', 'Liao|Baoling|B|', 'Zhou|Yuming|Y|', 'Li|Bing|B|', 'Ran|Pixin|P|']
D000818:Animals D001419:Bacteria D018533:Biomass D004736:Energy-Generating Resources D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay D005434:Flow Cytometry D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions D007136:Immunoglobulins D019570:Inhalation Exposure D008168:Lung D016676:Macrophages, Alveolar D008297:Male D052638:Particulate Matter D010587:Phagocytosis D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley D021521:Ribotyping D013997:Time Factors D001335:Vehicle Emissions
Particulate matter Microbial composition Immune response Biomass fuel Motor vehicle exhaust