PM2.5 in poultry houses synergizes with to aggravate lung inflammation in mice through the NF-κB pathway.

Background: High concentrations of particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) in poultry houses is an important cause of respiratory disease in animals and humans. is an opportunistic pathogen that can induce severe respiratory disease in animals under stress or with abnormal immune functions. When excessively high concentrations of PM2.5 in poultry houses damage the respiratory system and impair host immunity, secondary infections with can occur and produce a more intense inflammatory response, resulting in more severe lung injury.

Objectives: In this study, we focused on the synergistic induction of inflammatory injury in the respiratory system and the related molecular mechanisms induced by PM2.5 and in poultry houses.

Methods: High-throughput 16S rDNA sequence analysis was used for characterizing the bacterial diversity and relative abundance of the PM2.5 samples, and the effects of PM2.5 and stimulation on inflammation were detected by and .

Results: Sequencing results indicated that the PM2.5 in poultry houses contained a high abundance of potentially pathogenic genera, such as (2.94%). The lung tissues of mice had more significant pathological damage when co-stimulated by PM2.5 and , and it can increase the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α through nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway and .

Conclusions: The results confirmed that poultry house PM2.5 in combination with could aggravate the inflammatory response and cause more severe respiratory system injuries through a process closely related to the activation of the NF-κB pathway.