Atmospheric pollution is a major environmental and public health risk due to its effect on global air quality and climate. Increase in pollutants concentrations, especially particulate matter (PM), are associated with increased respiratory diseases. The pathophysiology of respiratory diseases involves molecular and cellular mechanisms as inflammatory biomarkers and reactive oxygen species production. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the in vitro cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory effects of particulate matter (PM) of six monitoring stations (1–6) from the Vitoria Metropolitan Area (VMA), Espirito Santo, Brazil in 2018. The PM was chemically characterized by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In vitro cytotoxic effects of PM (3.12–200.0 μg/mL) were analyzed in human lung epithelial cells (A549) and macrophage cells (RAW 264.7) by MTT assay (3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide). To investigate the pro-inflammatory effects of PM in RAW 264.7 cells, the levels of proinflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO), superoxide anion (O₂^•-), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF- κB) were measured. The comet assay evaluated genotoxicity. Cell cycle, oxidative stress (DCF and DHE), and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Chemical analysis of PM revealed aluminum (Al) and Iron (Fe) as the major chemical elements in all studied monitoring stations. In addition, worrying concentrations of mercury (Hg) were detected in the PM. The in vitro results showed that PM presents a dose-dependent cytotoxic effect in macrophage and pulmonary epithelial cell lines. The PM increased the production of NO, O₂^•-, and pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. PM also promoted alterations in the cell cycle, increased apoptosis frequency, and DNA damage. Moreover, PM increased the expression NF-κB. In addition, a positive correlation between Al and Fe and ROS production was observed. Based on the results obtained during the study period, it was concluded that the sedimented particles from the VMA might have deleterious effects on human health, which was evidenced by the increase in oxidative stress, an increase in pro-inflammatory mediators, and genotoxic effects partially mediated by the NF-κB pathway. These results add aspects to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in the effects of sedimented particles in vivo and in vitro.

由于大气污染对全球空气质量和气候的影响，大气污染是一项重大的环境和公共卫生风险。污染物浓度的增加，尤其是颗粒物 (PM) 的增加，与呼吸系统疾病的增加有关。呼吸系统疾病的病理生理学涉及分子和细胞机制，如炎症生物标志物和活性氧物质的产生。因此，本研究旨在调查2018 年巴西圣埃斯皮里图市维多利亚都会区 (VMA) 的六个监测站 (1-6) 的颗粒物 (PM) 的体外细胞毒性和促炎作用。PM通过电感耦合等离子体质谱进行化学表征。体外通过 MTT 法 (3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5) 在人肺上皮细胞 (A549) 和巨噬细胞 (RAW 264.7) 中分析 PM (3.12–200.0 μg/mL) 的细胞毒性作用-二苯基-2H-溴化四唑）。为了研究 PM 在 RAW 264.7 细胞中的促炎作用，促炎介质如一氧化氮 (NO)、超氧阴离子 (O ₂ ^•-)、肿瘤坏死因子 (TNF-α)、白细胞介素 6 (IL-6) 和核因子 kappa B (NF-κB) 的激活。彗星试验评估了遗传毒性。通过流式细胞术分析细胞周期、氧化应激（DCF和DHE）和细胞凋亡。PM 的化学分析显示，铝 (Al) 和铁 (Fe) 是所有研究监测站中的主要化学元素。此外，在 PM 中检测到令人担忧的汞 (Hg) 浓度。的体外结果表明，PM呈现在巨噬细胞和肺上皮细胞系的剂量依赖性细胞毒性效应。PM 增加了 NO, O _{2 的产生}^•-和促炎细胞因子 TNF-α 和 IL-6。PM 还促进细胞周期的改变、细胞凋亡频率的增加和 DNA 损伤。此外，PM 增加了 NF-κB 的表达。此外，观察到 Al 和 Fe 与 ROS 产生之间呈正相关。根据研究期间获得的结果，得出的结论是，来自 VMA 的沉淀颗粒可能对人类健康产生有害影响，这可以通过氧化应激的增加、促炎介质的增加和部分遗传毒性效应来证明。由 NF-κB 通路介导。这些结果增加了阐明沉积颗粒在体内和体外的影响所涉及的分子机制。