The Effects of Diesel Exhaust Particles or Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Pulmonary Inflammation

Pulmonary exposure to particulate matter has been associated with development of pulmonary inflammation which can lead to pulmonary illnesses and diseases. Various cultures have turned to various dietary supplements to treat pulmonary inflammation. In this study, BEAS 2 B cells were pre-treated with curcumin or sulforaphane dietary extracts prior to diesel exhaust particle (DEP) challenge while MHS cells were exposed to various sizes of titanium dioxide nanoparticles. These two systems allowed me to examine whether particulates can up-regulate biomarkers of inflammation and whether supplements can mitigate inflammation via altering signal transduction in multiple pathways. I hypothesized that all particulate matter would activate pro-inflammatory signal transduction and pre-treatment with extracts would enhance antioxidant response after DEP challenge. In this study, inflammatory biomarkers were only enhanced in DEP challenged cells after supplement pre-treatment while only NQO-1 antioxidant response was enhanced. Inflammatory biomarkers were enhanced in cells exposed to the smallest-sized titanium dioxide particles.