Maternal Particulate Matter Exposure Impairs Lung Health and Is Associated with Mitochondrial Damage
Baoming Wang,
Yik-Lung Chan,
Gerard Li,
Kin Fai Ho,
Ayad G. Anwer,
Bradford J. Smith,
Hai Guo,
Bin Jalaludin,
Cristan Herbert,
Paul S. Thomas,
Jiayan Liao,
David G. Chapman,
Paul S. Foster,
Sonia Saad,
Hui Chen,
Brian G. Oliver
Affiliations
Baoming Wang
Faculty of Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Yik-Lung Chan
Faculty of Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Gerard Li
Faculty of Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Kin Fai Ho
Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Ayad G. Anwer
ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale Biophotonics, Faculty of Engineering, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Bradford J. Smith
Department of Bioengineering, Department of Paediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Hai Guo
Air Quality Studies, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Bin Jalaludin
Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Cristan Herbert
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Prince of Wales’ Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Paul S. Thomas
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Prince of Wales’ Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Jiayan Liao
Institute for Biomedical Materials and Devices, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
David G. Chapman
Faculty of Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Paul S. Foster
Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
Sonia Saad
Renal Group, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, The University of Sydney, St Leonards, Sydney, NSW 2064, Australia
Hui Chen
Faculty of Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Brian G. Oliver
Faculty of Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Relatively little is known about the transgenerational effects of chronic maternal exposure to low-level traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) on the offspring lung health, nor are the effects of removing such exposure before pregnancy. Female BALB/c mice were exposed to PM2.5 (PM2.5, 5 µg/day) for 6 weeks before mating and during gestation and lactation; in a subgroup, PM was removed when mating started to model mothers moving to cleaner areas during pregnancy to protect their unborn child (Pre-exposure). Lung pathology was characterised in both dams and offspring. A subcohort of female offspring was also exposed to ovalbumin to model allergic airways disease. PM2.5 and Pre-exposure dams exhibited airways hyper-responsiveness (AHR) with mucus hypersecretion, increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial dysfunction in the lungs. Female offspring from PM2.5 and Pre-exposure dams displayed AHR with increased lung inflammation and mitochondrial ROS production, while males only displayed increased lung inflammation. After the ovalbumin challenge, AHR was increased in female offspring from PM2.5 dams compared with those from control dams. Using an in vitro model, the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ reversed mitochondrial dysfunction by PM stimulation, suggesting that the lung pathology in offspring is driven by dysfunctional mitochondria. In conclusion, chronic exposure to low doses of PM2.5 exerted transgenerational impairment on lung health.
