How Particulate Matter is Sneaking into Your Body
Particulate matter in the air can cause serious health problems, including infertility, cancer, and respiratory issues. A study found that these particles can enter the body and damage various organs.
High concentrations of particulate matter from 0.1 to 10 micrometers can reach the lungs, kidneys, liver, brain,, and ovaries, causing infertility in women; in addition, diesel can damage the development of an organism, as indicated by some works carried out by the Mexican scientist and former UNAM professor, Ernesto Alfaro Moreno.
During the last conference of the Current Panorama of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Change 2024 cycle, which was held at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Change (ICAyCC), the researcher from the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Braga, Portugal, explained.
Although from 1950 it was evident that air pollution caused health problems, it took almost 40 years for clear associations to be made between particulate matter and cardiopulmonary problems and lung cancer.
Before students and experts gathered in the Julián Adem auditorium of the ICAyCC, the environmental toxicologist recalled that although throughout history it was evident that those who worked in mines died quickly due to respiratory problems, it was not until 1952 when a health problem arose in London, England (the dark fog blanket), when it was considered evident that this type of concentration of particles in the air was the cause, a circumstance that remains in the world. A similar event occurred in Mexico City in 1990, and recently in Mumbai (India), in 2018.
In the talk Particulate matter and health: from atmospheric pollutants to advanced novel nanomaterials," the specialist said that for decades, studies have been carried out on where particles go inside the body and it was found that depending on their size, they damage certain parts of the respiratory system.
Today, he said, it is clear that particulate matter of 10 micrometers (PM10) lodges in the airways with a high content of dust and biological components, while PM2.5 can reach the alveoli and have a high content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals. PM0.1 can cross biological barriers and enter the circulatory system (blood), and from there travel to other organs, especially the brain, kidneys, liver, and heart, and in the case of pregnant women, reach the fetus.
Alfaro Moreno highlighted that in 2015, when he led the inhalation toxicology research project at Swetox in Sweden, it was found that particulate materials were capable of incorporating themselves into certain hormonal components, generating issues such as infertility, cancer, diabetes, and generalized inflammation.
The current leader of the Sinfonia Project, supported by the European Union, presented a paper in 2023 that investigated the ability of air pollution particles to reach human ovarian tissue and follicles containing oocytes at various stages of maturation. To conduct this research, they reviewed 20 samples of follicular fluid and ovarian tissue – from people who had undergone in vitro fertilization processes – for black carbon particles, and the result was that they found them in all of the samples.
On the other hand, together with a team of doctoral students, the leader of the Nanosecurity Group at the INL reviewed the effect of exposure to diesel used in cars, using a nematode called Caenorhabditis elegans as an animal model to measure its development cycle and mobility.
They observed that the higher the concentration of particles, the smaller the size of the worms and the more limited their mobility. The particles are not toxic in the sense of killing the animal, but they did impact its development and behavior.
These consequences are important, especially when considering that children are exposed to this contaminant. If we reflect on this, we must infer that they could have certain negative effects on their maturation or behavior, Alfaro Moreno highlighted.
In addition, this study analyzed possible repercussions on neuronal progress, since it has been suggested that exposure to these particles may be the trigger for the development of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
The results indicated that neurons related to glutamate receptors suffer damage or alterations, which brings one closer to Alzheimer's type; but this is not the case with Parkinson's, since the dopaminergic receptors associated with this condition are not altered, although it is true that their anatomy is impacted.
Recently, Alfaro Moreno began studies for the characterization of nanoparticles in health, because in 2021 it was estimated that the nanomaterials market generated 37.4 billion and it is expected that by 2031 it will reach 62.9 billion.
