Changes in extrapulmonary organs and serum enzyme biomarkers after chronic exposure to Buenos Aires air pollution

MAGLIONE, GUILLERMO ALBERTO; KURTZ, MELISA LIDIA; ORONA, NADIA SOLEDAD; ASTORT, FRANCISCO; BRITES, FERNANDO; MORALES, CELINA; BERRA, ALEJANDRO; TASAT, DEBORAH RUTH

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH

SPRINGER HEIDELBERG

Año: 2020 vol. 27 p. 14529 - 14542

0944-1344

Urban air pollution is a serious environmental problem in developing countries worldwide, and health is a pressing issue in themegacities in Latin America. Buenos Aires is a megacity with an estimated moderate Air Quality Index ranging from 42 to 74 μg/m3. Exposure to Urban Air Particles from Buenos Aires (UAP-BA) induces morphological and physiological respiratoryalterations; nevertheless, no studies on extrapulmonary organs have been performed. The aim of the present study was to explorethe health effects of chronic exposure to UAP-BA (1, 6, 9, and 12 months) on the liver, heart, and serum risk biomarkers. BALB/cmice were exposed to UAP-BA or filtered air (FA) in inhalation chambers, and liver and heart histopathology, oxidativemetabolism (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; lipoperoxidation, TBARS), amino transaminases (AST, ALT) as serumrisk biomarkers, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), paraxonase-1 (PON-1), and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2)were evaluated. Chronic exposure to real levels of UAP in Buenos Aires led to alterations in extrapulmonary organs associatedwith inflammation and oxidative imbalance and to changes in liver and heart risk biomarkers. Our results may reflect the impactof the persistent air pollution in Buenos Aires on individuals living in this Latin American megacity