Inflammatory Status in Trained and Untrained Mice at Different Pollution Levels

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jun 23;21(7):821. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21070821.

Abstract

Atmospheric pollution can be defined as a set of changes that occur in the composition of the air, making it unsuitable and/or harmful and thereby generating adverse effects on human health. The regular practice of physical exercise (PE) is associated with the preservation and/or improvement of health; however, it can be influenced by neuroimmunoendocrine mechanisms and external factors such as air pollution, highlighting the need for studies involving the practice of PE in polluted environments. Herein, 24 male C57BL/6 mice were evaluated, distributed into four groups (exposed to a high concentration of pollutants/sedentary, exposed to a high concentration of pollutants/exercised, exposed to ambient air/sedentary, and exposed to ambient air/exercised). The exposure to pollutants occurred in the environmental particle concentrator (CPA) and the physical training was performed on a treadmill specially designed for use within the CPA. Pro- and anti-inflammatory markers in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage (BALF), BALF cellularity, and lung tissue were evaluated. Although the active group exposed to a high concentration of pollution showed a greater inflammatory response, both the correlation analysis and the ratio between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines demonstrated that the exercised group presented greater anti-inflammatory activity, suggesting a protective/adaptative effect of exercise when carried out in a polluted environment.

Keywords: adaptation; atmospheric pollution; inflammation; physical exercise.

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants* / analysis
  • Air Pollutants* / toxicity
  • Air Pollution / adverse effects
  • Air Pollution / analysis
  • Animals
  • Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid* / chemistry
  • Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid* / immunology
  • Cytokines* / metabolism
  • Inflammation / chemically induced
  • Lung / drug effects
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL*
  • Particulate Matter / analysis
  • Particulate Matter / toxicity
  • Physical Conditioning, Animal*

Substances

  • Cytokines
  • Air Pollutants
  • Particulate Matter

Grants and funding

This research was funded by FAPESP under Process number: 2017/00307-0; financial support from CNPq grant # 311576/2022–2.