Although human population studies have linked air pollution to chronic inflammation of nasal and sinus tissues, direct biological and molecular evidence for cause and effect has been scant. Now, Johns Hopkins researchers report that experiments in mice continually exposed to dirty air have revealed that direct biological effect.
Researchers have long known that smog, ash and other particulates from industrial smokestacks and other sources that pollute air quality exacerbate and raise rates of asthma symptoms, but had little evidence of similar damage from those pollutants to the upper respiratory system.
Although human population studies have linked air pollution to chronic inflammation of nasal and sinus tissues, direct biological and molecular evidence for cause and effect has been scant. Now, Johns Hopkins researchers report that experiments in mice continually exposed to dirty air have revealed that direct biological effect.
Researchers have long known that smog, ash and other particulates from industrial smokestacks and other sources that pollute air quality exacerbate and raise rates of asthma symptoms, but had little evidence of similar damage from those pollutants to the upper respiratory system.
The new findings, published in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, have broad implications for the health and well-being of people who live in large cities and industrial areas with polluted air, particularly in the developing world.
Continue reading at Johns Hopkins Medicine
Image: Sinuses of mice that inhaled filtered air. The sinus surface is an intact barrier as seen by the presence of proteins that hold the cells together such as E-cadherin (red).
Credit: Ramanathan lab
