Abstract

MIGUEL-PEREZ, Gabriela et al. Effects of air pollution in human lung cells. Bol. Med. Hosp. Infant. Mex. [online]. 2013, vol.70, n.2, pp.107-115. ISSN 1665-1146.

Background. PM_2.5 are components of the atmosphere of Mexico City and contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which induce toxic effects. Due to different compositions of the PM_2.5 in all zones of Mexico City and the lack of information about their effects, the main purpose of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity due to soluble organic fractions (SOFs), which contains PAH isolated from the PM_2.5 collected from several monitoring stations in Mexico City (northeast, downtown, and southwest) in a cell culture of human line NL-20 during a 24-h period. Methods. We extracted the soluble organic fraction of PM_2.5 filters from the different monitoring stations. Human bronchial cells were cultured and subsequently assays were performed on the exposure of SOFs to evaluate the effect on the viability and induction of genotoxicity. Results. Results show that 0.1 μg/μl of SOF from the downtown station was more cytotoxic, reducing cell viability to 52.4% and 54.2% in both dry and rainy periods, respectively. Also, cellular anomalies were induced such as multinucleation and nuclear atypia. These percentages of cytotoxicity contrasted against those obtained from SOFs from the northeast area that were 91.2% and 85% at the same concentration during both dry and rainy periods, respectively (p <0.05). Only at 0.1 μg/μl SOF were the results genotoxic from the northeast and downtown (p <0.05). Conclusions. SOFs from the downtown zone were the most cytotoxic due to the high concentration of automobiles as the main sources of PAH.

Keywords : pollution; air; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; lung; bronchial cells.

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