Exposure to the World Trade Center Particulate Matter Alters the Gut-Brain Axis in Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease Mice.

Background: The September 11, 2001, catastrophe unleashed widespread destruction beyond the World Center (WTC), with fires and toxic gases leaving lasting impacts. First responders at Ground Zero faced prolonged exposure to hazardous particulate matter (PM), resulting in chronic health challenges. Among the multitude of health concerns, the potential association between the WTCPM and Alzheimer's disease (AD) has emerged as an area of intense inquiry, probing the intricate interplay between environmental factors and neurodegenerative diseases.

Trace and Major Element Concentrations in Cadaveric Lung Tissues from World Trade Center Health Registry Decedents and Community Controls.

Studies of the health impacts of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City's (NYC's) World Trade Center (WTC) towers have been hindered by imprecise estimates of exposure. We sought to identify potential biomarkers of WTC exposure by measuring trace and major metal concentrations in lung tissues from WTC-exposed individuals and less exposed community controls. We also investigated associations of lung tissue metal concentrations with self-reported exposure and respiratory symptoms.

Transcriptomic analysis of World Trade Center particulate Matter-induced pulmonary inflammation and drug treatments.

Over 400,000 people are estimated to have been exposed to World Trade Center particulate matter (WTC) since the attack on the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001. Epidemiological studies have found that exposure to dust may cause respiratory ailments and cardiovascular diseases. However, limited studies have performed a systematic analysis of transcriptomic data to elucidate the biological responses to WTC exposure and the therapeutic options.

DNA damage, DNA repair and carcinogenicity: Tobacco smoke versus electronic cigarette aerosol.

The allure of tobacco smoking is linked to the instant gratification provided by inhaled nicotine. Unfortunately, tobacco curing and burning generates many mutagens including more than 70 carcinogens. There are two types of mutagens and carcinogens in tobacco smoke (TS): direct DNA damaging carcinogens and procarcinogens, which require metabolic activation to become DNA damaging.

Ambient fine particulate matter exposure disrupts placental autophagy and fetal development in gestational mice.

Recent studies have shown that some adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), are associated with gestational exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM). However, potential mechanism remains to be elucidated. In the present study, pregnant C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to be exposed to either filtered air or ambient PM in the gestation period via a concentrated whole-body exposure system.

World Trade Center dust induces nasal and neurological tissue injury while propagating reduced olfaction capabilities and increased anxiety behaviors.

Previous and in vivo World Trade Center particulate matter (WTC) exposure studies have provided evidence of exposure-driven oxidative/nitrative stress and inflammation on respiratory tract and aortic tissues. What remains to be fully understood are secondary organ impacts due to WTC exposure. This study was designed to test if WTC particle-induced nasal and neurologic tissue injury may result in unforeseen functional and behavioral outcomes.

Particle toxicity's role in air pollution.

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Longitudinal Impact of WTC Dust Inhalation on Rat Cardiac Tissue Transcriptomic Profiles.

First responders (FR) exposed to the World Trade Center (WTC) Ground Zero air over the first week after the 9/11 disaster have an increased heart disease incidence compared to unexposed FR and the general population. To test if WTC dusts were causative agents, rats were exposed to WTC dusts (under isoflurane [ISO] anesthesia) 2 h/day on 2 consecutive days; controls received air/ISO or air only. Hearts were collected 1, 30, 240, and 360 d post-exposure, left ventricle total RNA was extracted, and transcription profiles were obtained.

Longitudinal impact on rat cardiac tissue transcriptomic profiles due to acute intratracheal inhalation exposures to isoflurane.

Isoflurane (ISO) is a widely used inhalation anesthetic in experiments with rodents and humans during surgery. Though ISO has not been reported to impart long-lasting side effects, it is unknown if ISO can influence gene regulation in certain tissues, including the heart. Such changes could have important implications for use of this anesthetic in patients susceptible to heart failure/other cardiac abnormalities.

E-Cigarette Toxicology.

Since the spread of tobacco from the Americas hundreds of years ago, tobacco cigarettes and, more recently, alternative tobacco products have become global products of nicotine addiction. Within the evolving alternative tobacco product space, electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) vaping has surpassed conventional cigarette smoking among adolescents and young adults in the United States and beyond. This review describes the experimental and clinical evidence of e-cigarette toxicity and deleterious health effects.

A Regulatory Role of Chemokine Receptor CXCR3 in the Pathogenesis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Emphysema.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/pulmonary emphysema is driven by the dysregulated airway inflammation and primarily influenced by the interaction between cigarette smoking (CS) and the individual's susceptibility. The inflammation in COPD involves both innate and adaptive immunity. By binding to its specific ligands, chemokine receptor CXCR3 plays an important role in regulating tissue inflammation and damage.

Lipid metabolic adaption to long-term ambient PM exposure in mice.

Emerging evidence has demonstrated that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) is a risk factor for lipid metabolic disorders in the liver. However, the effects of PM exposure time duration on hepatic lipid metabolism remain unknown. In this study, C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into ambient PM (PM) or filtered air (FA) exposure chamber for short-term (4 weeks) or long-term (24 weeks) exposure via a whole body exposure system.

Analysis of Acrolein Exposure Induced Pulmonary Response in Seven Inbred Mouse Strains and Human Primary Bronchial Epithelial Cells Cultured at Air-Liquid Interface.

Background: Acrolein is a major component of environmental pollutants, cigarette smoke, and is also formed by heating cooking oil. We evaluated the interstrain variability of response to subchronic inhalation exposure to acrolein among inbred mouse strains for inflammation, oxidative stress, and tissue injury responses. Furthermore, we studied the response to acrolein vapor in the lung mucosa model using human primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC) cultured at an air-liquid interface (ALI) to evaluate the findings of mouse studies.

Toxicity of particles emitted by fireworks.

Background: Particle matter (PM) has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates across the world. This study was designed to test the hypotheses that pyrotechnic firework displays introduce significant amounts of toxic metals into the atmosphere and are hazardous to human health. Size-selective emissions from 10 different fireworks displays were collected during particle generation in a dynamic, stainless steel chamber and tested for toxicity in cells.

Impact on rats from acute intratracheal inhalation exposures to WTC dusts.

Studies have revealed the increased incidence of health disorders in First Responders (FR) who were at Ground Zero over the initial 72 hr after the World Trade Center (WTC) collapses. Previous studies in rats exposed to WTC dusts using exposure scenarios that mimicked FR mouthbreathing showed exposure led to altered expression of genes whose products could be involved in lung ailments. Nevertheless, it was uncertain if repeated exposures (as occurred in earliest days post-disaster) might have given rise to long-term changes in the lungs/other organs, in white blood cell (WBC) profiles, and/or systemic expression of select (mostly immune-related) proteins.

World Trade Center Dust induces airway inflammation while promoting aortic endothelial dysfunction.

Respiratory ailments have plagued occupational and public health communities exposed to World Trade Center (WTC) dust since the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan. We proposed that these ailments were proposed to be induced by inhalation exposure to WTC particulate matter (WTC), that was released during the collapse of the buildings and its subsequent resuspension during cleanup. We investigated this hypothesis using both an in vitro and an in vivo mouse intranasal (IN) exposure models to identify the inflammatory potential of WTC with specific emphasis on respiratory and endothelial tissue responses.

Sex-dependent effects of ambient PM pollution on insulin sensitivity and hepatic lipid metabolism in mice.

Background & Aims: Emerging evidence supports ambient fine particulate matter (PM) exposure is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and hepatic lipid accumulation. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the sex-dependent vulnerability in response to PM exposure and investigate the underlying mechanism by which PM modulates hepatic lipid metabolism.

Methods: Both male and female C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to ambient PM or filtered air for 24 weeks via a whole body exposure system.

Electronic cigarettes and insulin resistance in animals and humans: Results of a controlled animal study and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2013-2016).

Background: The popularity of electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) has risen considerably. Several studies have suggested that nicotine may affect insulin resistance, however, the impact of E-cigarette exposure on insulin resistance, an early measure of cardiometabolic risk, is not known.

Methods And Results: Using experimental animals and human data obtained from 3,989 participants of the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), respectively, we assessed the association between E-cigarette and conventional cigarette exposures and insulin resistance, as modelled using the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and glucose tolerance tests (GTT).

Complementary biobank of rodent tissue samples to study the effect of World Trade Center exposure on cancer development.

World Trade Center (WTC) responders were exposed to mixture of dust, smoke, chemicals and carcinogens. New York University (NYU) and Mount Sinai have recreated WTC exposure in rodents to observe the resulting systemic and local biological responses. These experiments aid in the interpretation of epidemiological observations and are useful for understanding the carcinogenesis process in the exposed human WTC cohort.

Electronic-cigarette smoke induces lung adenocarcinoma and bladder urothelial hyperplasia in mice.

Electronic-cigarettes (E-cigs) are marketed as a safe alternative to tobacco to deliver the stimulant nicotine, and their use is gaining in popularity, particularly among the younger population. We recently showed that mice exposed to short-term (12 wk) E-cig smoke (ECS) sustained extensive DNA damage in lungs, heart, and bladder mucosa and diminished DNA repair in lungs. Nicotine and its nitrosation product, nicotine-derived nitrosamine ketone, cause the same deleterious effects in human lung epithelial and bladder urothelial cells.

Mapping urban air quality using mobile sampling with low-cost sensors and machine learning in Seoul, South Korea.

Recent studies have demonstrated that mobile sampling can improve the spatial granularity of land use regression (LUR) models. Mobile sampling campaigns deploying low-cost (<$300) air quality sensors could potentially offer an inexpensive and practical approach to measure and model air pollution concentration levels. In this study, we developed LUR models for street-level fine particulate matter (PM) concentration levels in Seoul, South Korea.

Prostate Cancer in World Trade Center Responders Demonstrates Evidence of an Inflammatory Cascade.

An excess incidence of prostate cancer has been identified among World Trade Center (WTC) responders. In this study, we hypothesized that WTC dust, which contained carcinogens and tumor-promoting agents, could facilitate prostate cancer development by inducing DNA damage, promoting cell proliferation, and causing chronic inflammation. We compared expression of immunologic and inflammatory genes using a NanoString assay on archived prostate tumors from WTC Health Program (WTCHP) patients and non-WTC patients with prostate cancer.

Exposure to air pollution is associated with adverse cardiopulmonary health effects in international travellers.

Background: With the number of annual global travellers reaching 1.2 billion, many individuals encounter greater levels of air pollution when they travel abroad to megacities around the world. This study's objective was to determine if visits to cities abroad with greater levels of air pollution adversely impact cardiopulmonary health.