Mechanisms of ozone toxicity in cultured cells. I. Reduced clonogenic ability of polyunsaturated fatty acid-supplemented fibroblasts. Effect of vitamin E

Dietary supplementations to mitigate the cardiopulmonary effects of air pollution toxicity: A systematic review of clinical trials

BACKGROUND

There is a consistent association between exposure to air pollution and elevated rates of cardiopulmonary illnesses. As public health activities emphasize the paramount need to reduce exposure, it is crucial to examine strategies like the antioxidant diet that could potentially protect individuals who are unavoidably exposed.

METHODS

A systematic search was performed in PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and ClinicalTrials.gov up to March 31, 2023, for clinical trials assessing dietary supplements against cardiovascular (blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, brachial artery diameter, flow-mediated dilation, and lipid profile) or pulmonary outcomes (pulmonary function and airway inflammation) attributed to air pollution exposure.

RESULTS

After reviewing 4681 records, 18 studies were included. There were contradictory findings on the effects of fish oil and olive oil supplementations on cardiovascular outcomes. Although with limited evidence, fish oil offered protection against pulmonary dysfunction induced by pollutants. Most studies on vitamin C did not find protective cardiovascular effects; however, the combination of vitamin C and E offered protective effects against pulmonary dysfunction but showed conflicting results for cardiovascular outcomes. Other supplements like sulforaphane, L-arginine, n-acetylcysteine, and B vitamins showed potential beneficial effects but need further research due to the limited number of existing trials.

CONCLUSIONS

Although more research is needed to determine the efficacy and optimal dose of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant dietary supplements against air pollution toxicity, this low-cost preventative strategy has the potential to offer protection against outcomes of air pollution exposure.

Protective effects of inhaled antioxidants against air pollution-induced pathological responses

As the public health burden of air pollution continues to increase, new strategies to mitigate harmful health effects are needed. Dietary antioxidants have previously been explored to protect against air pollution-induced lung injury producing inconclusive results. Inhaled (pulmonary or nasal) administration of antioxidants presents a more promising approach as it could directly increase antioxidant levels in the airway surface liquid (ASL), providing protection against oxidative damage from air pollution. Several antioxidants have been shown to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties in in vitro and in vivo models of air pollution exposure; however, little work has been done to translate these basic research findings into practice. This narrative review summarizes these findings and data from human studies using inhaled antioxidants in response to air pollution, which have produced positive results, indicating further investigation is warranted. In addition to human studies, cell and murine studies should be conducted using more relevant models of exposure such as air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures of primary cells and non-aqueous apical delivery of antioxidants and pollutants. Inhalation of antioxidants shows promise as a protective intervention to prevent air pollution-induced lung injury and exacerbation of existing lung disease.

Effects of maternal and paternal exercise on offspring metabolism

Maternal and paternal obesity and type 2 diabetes are recognized risk factors for the development of metabolic dysfunction in offspring, even when the offspring follow a healthful lifestyle. Multiple studies have demonstrated that regular physical activity in mothers and fathers has striking beneficial effects on offspring health, including preventing the development of metabolic disease in rodent offspring as they age. Here, we review the benefits of maternal and paternal exercise in combating the development of metabolic dysfunction in adult offspring, focusing on offspring glucose homeostasis and adaptations to metabolic tissues. We discuss recent findings regarding the roles of the placenta and sperm in mediating the effects of parental exercise on offspring metabolic health, as well as the mechanisms hypothesized to underlie these beneficial changes. Given the worldwide epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes, if these findings translate to humans, regular exercise during the reproductive years might limit the vicious cycles in which increased metabolic risk propagates across generations.

Photochemical oxidants: state of the science

Atmospheric photochemical processes resulting in the production of tropospheric ozone (O(3)) and other oxidants are described. The spatial and temporal variabilities in the occurrence of surface level oxidants and their relationships to air pollution meteorology are discussed. Models of photooxidant formation are reviewed in the context of control strategies and comparisons are provided of the air concentrations of O(3) at select geographic locations around the world. This overall oxidant (O(3)) climatology is coupled to human health and ecological effects. The discussion of the effects includes both acute and chronic responses, mechanisms of action, human epidemiological and plant population studies and briefly, efforts to establish cause-effect relationships through numerical modeling. A short synopsis is provided of the interactive effects of O(3) with other abiotic and biotic factors. The overall emphasis of the paper is on identifying the current uncertainties and gaps in our understanding of the state of the science and some suggestions as to how they may be addressed.

Exposure of human lung fibroblasts to ozone: cell mortality and hyaluronan metabolism

Exposure of cultures of human lung fibroblasts to 0.5 ppm ozone for 20 h resulted in a significant increase in cellular mortality by 29%; after exposure to 2.5 ppm ozone for 4 h, the increase amounted to 74%. A marked difference in sensitivity to ozone was observed between fibroblast lines from different individuals. This variability in resistance to ozone was more evident after exposure to 0.5 ppm ozone for 20 h, when compared with 2.5 ppm ozone for 4 h. In one fibroblast line, synthesis of hyaluronan was enhanced by exposure to 0.5 ppm ozone for 20 h. The concentrations of hyaluronan in culture media increased in experiments using different fibroblast cell lines, a phenomenon that was obvious both if cell numbers and combined protein concentrations of cells and media are selected as references for hyaluronan concentrations.

Death of serum-free mouse embryo cells caused by transforming growth factor beta 1 and effects of nutritional factors

Transforming growth factor beta 1 (1 ng/ml) caused death of serum-free mouse embryo cells cultured in a medium consisting of a 1:1 mixture of Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's medium and Ham's F12 medium supplemented with fibronectin, insulin, transferrin, epidermal growth factor, and high density lipoprotein. Cell death occurred in the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids including linoleic acid in the absence of selenium. The death could be reversed by adding alpha-tocopherol to the culture indicating a mechanism involving fatty acid peroxidation. Butylated hydroxytoluene was a poor suppressor of cell death in contrast to alpha-tocopherol. High density lipoprotein and fatty acid-free albumin also suppressed cell death at the level of 20 micrograms/ml and 1 mg/ml, respectively. Transforming growth factor beta 1 also caused a low rate of cell growth after heat treatment of the cells at 45 degrees C.

Relationships between intracellular vitamin E, lipid peroxidation, and chemical toxicity in hepatocytes

The cellular content of vitamin E was measured in isolated rat hepatocytes exposed to various types of chemical injury. Vitamin E was determined as alpha-tocopherol by HPLC with in-line uv and electrochemical detection. The cytotoxicity of diquat, a redox cycling compound, was accompanied by a decrease in cellular alpha-tocopherol and a stimulation of lipid peroxidation. Both the loss of alpha-tocopherol and the accumulation of lipid peroxidation products could be prevented by addition of either the antioxidant N,N'-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPPD) or the reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT). DTT also prevented the oxidation of soluble and protein thiols and completely protected against cytotoxicity, while DPPD addition only delayed the onset of hepatocyte death. Cytotoxic doses of the naphthoquinone, menadione, and the pyridine compounds 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-pyridinium ion did not deplete alpha-tocopherol levels, nor did they result in significant lipid peroxidation. On the other hand, a peroxidizing, but noncytotoxic dose of ADP-Fe3+ rapidly decreased cellular alpha-tocopherol levels. These data demonstrate that cellular alpha-tocopherol loss is neither a prerequisite for, nor a necessary consequence of toxicity. Moreover, a substantial depletion (ca. 50%) of alpha-tocopherol does not necessarily result in cell death. Although alpha-tocopherol protects against the oxidation of cellular lipids, the maintenance of hepatocyte alpha-tocopherol content does not prevent the oxidation of soluble and protein thiols. These other targets of oxidative damage seem to play a more critical role in hepatocyte toxicity.

Influence of polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation and membrane fluidity on ozone and nitrogen dioxide sensitivity of rat alveolar macrophages

The phospholipid polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content and the membrane fluidity of rat alveolar macrophages were modified dose-dependently and in different ways. This was done to study the importance of both membrane characteristics for the cellular sensitivity toward ozone and nitrogen dioxide. Cells preincubated with arachidonic acid (20:4) complexed to bovine serum albumin (BSA) demonstrated an increased in vitro sensitivity versus ozone and nitrogen dioxide. The phenomenon was only observed at the highest 20:4 concentrations tested, whereas the membrane fluidity of the 20:4-treated cells already showed a maximum increase at lower preincubation concentrations. Hence it could be concluded that the increased ozone and nitrogen dioxide sensitivity of PUFA-enriched cells is not caused by their increased membrane fluidity, resulting in an increased accessibility of sensitive cellular fatty acid moieties or amino acid residues. This conclusion receives further support from other observations. These results strongly support the involvement of lipid oxidation in the mechanism(s) of toxic action of both ozone and nitrogen dioxide in an intact cell system.