AIR POLLUTION AND UNDERNUTRITION: TWO SYNERGISTIC RISK FACTORS ON CARDIOVASCULAR AND PULMONARY HEALTH.

KURTZ, MELISA L.

Mendoza

Jornada; XL Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2022

Children encompass a highly susceptible subpopulation to the adverse effect of environmental pollutants and malnutrition. Air pollution (gases and particulate matter-PM) has a negative impact on lung, inducing oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory processes. Systemic translocation of PM and/or oxidative/inflammatory mediators resulting from the interaction PM-lung cells, can also cause adverse biological effects on remote organs. Therefore, we investigated the effects of ROFA (Residual Oil Fly Ash, a surrogate of air PM) exposure on the lung, heart and vasculature, in a nutritional growth retardation (NGR) rat model in vivo and ex vivo. In order to achieve NGR animals,male weanling rats were fed a restricted 20% diet compared to ad libitum intake (control-C) for 4 weeks. NGR and C rats were intranasally instilled with either 1 mg/kg BW of ROFA or its vehicle. Alveolar macrophages (AM) were isolated and cultured 24 h post-exposure and cell viability, antioxidant response, and pro-inflammatory cytokine release were evaluated. Furthermore, histological and biochemicalparameters such as oxidative metabolism and inflammation were assayed on lung, heart and thoracic aorta tissues obtained from bothanimal groups. The aorta contractile function and vascular biomarkers were also analyzed. Cultured AM from NGR rats exposed to ROFAshow diminished antioxidant response (Nrf2) and inflammatory mediators production (TNF-α and IL-6). Histopathologically ROFAinduced changes in the lung and was able to cause a rise in reactive oxygen species, always higher in C than in NGR animals. Even thoughROFA exposure altered heart oxidative metabolism in NGR animals leading to lipid oxidative damage, no histological or biochemicalchanges were observed. Following ROFA exposure, the contractile capacity of the aorta declined, and worsened in NGR animals. Inaddition, NGR rats presented reduction in eNOS and the L-type calcium channel levels, proteins involved in the regulation of the vasculartone. In summary, our in vivo and ex vivo studies showed that undernutrition affects the lung immune responsiveness to air pollutants andthe cardiovascular homeostasis. Therefore, we hypothesized that undernourished children subpopulation in scenarios of environmentalpollution would have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases.