Desert dust exposure is associated with adverse respiratory health effects. Desert dust is a complex pollutant mixtures that includes respirable crystalline and amorphous particles, metals, and microbial constituents. Given the health effects of desert dust and its heterogeneity, as yet unidentified harmful biological pathways may be triggered. Therefore, we exposed human air–liquid interface co-cultures of alveolar epithelial A549 cells and THP-1 macrophages to Saharan dust (SD). For comparison, we used the known pulmonary toxicant DQ12 quartz dust. Via RNA sequencing, we identified that SD but not DQ12 increased the gene expression of granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor () and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (). These findings were confirmed by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. SD dose-dependently upregulated and expression with significant 7 and 9-fold changes, respectively, at the highest tested concentration of 31 µg/cm. Furthermore, we observed that SD significantly enhanced the secretion of GM-CSF and G-CSF by 2-fold. Both cytokines have previously been associated with lung diseases such as asthma and fibrosis. Hence, we present two molecular messengers that may contribute to the adverse health effects of desert dust and might serve as drug targets for this globally relevant non-anthropogenic air pollutant.

中文翻译：

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撒哈拉尘埃诱导肺部疾病相关细胞因子粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子和粒细胞集落刺激因子

沙漠灰尘暴露与呼吸道健康的不良影响有关。沙漠灰尘是一种复杂的污染物混合物，包括可呼吸的结晶和无定形颗粒、金属和微生物成分。鉴于沙漠尘埃对健康的影响及其异质性，可能会引发尚未确定的有害生物途径。因此，我们将人肺泡上皮 A549 细胞和 THP-1 巨噬细胞的气液界面共培养物暴露于撒哈拉尘埃 (SD)。为了进行比较，我们使用了已知的肺部毒物 DQ12 石英粉尘。通过RNA测序，我们发现SD而非DQ12增加了粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子()和粒细胞集落刺激因子()的基因表达。这些发现通过定量逆转录酶 PCR 得到证实。在最高测试浓度 31 µg/cm 下，SD 呈剂量依赖性上调，表达量分别显着变化 7 倍和 9 倍。此外，我们观察到 SD 显着增强了 GM-CSF 和 G-CSF 的分泌 2 倍。这两种细胞因子以前都与哮喘和纤维化等肺部疾病有关。因此，我们提出了两种分子信使，它们可能会导致沙漠尘埃对健康产生不利影响，并可能作为这种全球相关的非人为空气污染物的药物靶点。