It is increasingly recognized that the ubiquity of convenient single-use plastic has resulted in a global plastic pollution challenge, with substantial environmental and health consequences.... Show moreIt is increasingly recognized that the ubiquity of convenient single-use plastic has resulted in a global plastic pollution challenge, with substantial environmental and health consequences. Physical, chemical, and biological processes result in plastic weathering, with eventual formation of debris in the micro to nano size range. There is an increasing awareness that plastic fragments are dispersed in the air and can be inhaled by humans, which may cause adverse effects on the respiratory system and on other systems. Urban environments are often characterized by high concentrations of fine airborne dust from various sources. To date, however, there is limited information on the distribution, shape, and size of microplastics in the air in urban and other environments. In this article, we review and discuss our current understanding of the exposure characteristics of airborne plastic debris in urbanized areas, focusing on concentration, size, morphology, presence of additives and distributions of different polymers. The natural and extend data are compiled and compared to laboratory-based analyses to further our understanding of the potential adverse effects of inhaled plastic particles on human health. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Show less
Amato-Lourenço, L.F.; Dos Santos Galvão, L.; Weger, L.A. de; Hiemstra, P.S.; Vijver, M.G.; Mauad, T. 2020
It is increasingly recognized that the ubiquity of convenient single-use plastic has resulted in a global plastic pollution challenge, with substantial environmental and health consequences.... Show moreIt is increasingly recognized that the ubiquity of convenient single-use plastic has resulted in a global plastic pollution challenge, with substantial environmental and health consequences. Physical, chemical, and biological processes result in plastic weathering, with eventual formation of debris in the micro to nano size range. There is an increasing awareness that plastic fragments are dispersed in the air and can be inhaled by humans, which may cause adverse effects on the respiratory system and on other systems. Urban environments are often characterized by high concentrations of fine airborne dust from various sources. To date, however, there is limited information on the distribution, shape, and size of microplastics in the air in urban and other environments. In this article, we review and discuss our current understanding of the exposure characteristics of airborne plastic debris in urbanized areas, focusing on concentration, size, morphology, presence of additives and distributions of different polymers. The natural and extend data are compiled and compared to laboratory-based analyses to further our understanding of the potential adverse effects of inhaled plastic particles on human health. Show less
Extracellular matrix (ECM) composition has an important role in determining airway structure. We postulated that ECM lung composition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients... Show moreExtracellular matrix (ECM) composition has an important role in determining airway structure. We postulated that ECM lung composition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients differs from that observed in smoking and nonsmoking subjects without airflow obstruction. We determined the fractional areas of elastic fibres, type-I, -III and -IV collagen, versican, decorin, biglycan, lumican, fibronectin and tenascin in different compartments of the large and small airways and lung parenchyma in 26 COPD patients, 26 smokers without COPD and 16 nonsmoking control subjects. The fractional area of elastic fibres was higher in non-obstructed smokers than in COPD and nonsmoking controls, in all lung compartments. Type-I collagen fractional area was lower in the large and small airways of COPD patients and in the small airways of non-obstructed smokers than in nonsmokers. Compared with nonsmokers, COPD patients had lower versican fractional area in the parenchyma, higher fibronectin fractional area in small airways and higher tenascin fractional area in large and small airways compartments. In COPD patients, significant correlations were found between elastic fibres and fibronectin and lung function parameters. Alterations of the major ECM components are widespread in all lung compartments of patients with COPD and may contribute to persistent airflow obstruction. Show less
Otter, I. den; Silva, L.F.F.; Carvalho, A.L.N.; Pires-Neto, R.C.; Annoni, R.; Ferreira, D.S.; ... ; Mauad, T. 2010
Background IgE and its high-affinity receptor Fc epsilon RI play an important role in allergy and asthma. The distribution of Fc epsilon RI expression in the airways and within the airway wall,... Show moreBackground IgE and its high-affinity receptor Fc epsilon RI play an important role in allergy and asthma. The distribution of Fc epsilon RI expression in the airways and within the airway wall, however, is largely unknown. Objective In this study, we aimed to map the distribution of Fc epsilon RI in different layers of large airways (LA) and small airways (SA) in lung tissue from non-smoking and smoking patients who died of asthma [fatal asthma (FA)] and non-smoking controls (CTR). Methods Postmortem lung tissue from 24 cases of non-smoking FA, 13 smoking FA patients and from 19 subjects who died of non-pulmonary causes (CTR) was immunohistochemically stained for Fc epsilon RI and AA1 (mast cell tryptase marker). The expression of these markers was analysed in inner, muscle, and outer layers of both LA and SA by image analysis. Results Fc epsilon RI expression was higher in non-smoking and smoking FA compared with CTR in the inner and outer layer of SA. In the outer layer of LA, Fc epsilon RI expression was higher in nonsmoking FA compared with CTR. AA1 was higher in non-smoking FA compared with smoking FA and CTR in the outer layer of the SA, which was correlated with Fc epsilon RI in this layer. Conclusion Our results show that the expression of Fc epsilon RI is higher in both LA and SA in FA compared with CTR. These differences are predominantly found in the outer layer where they can be attributed in part to the increased mast cell numbers. These results indicate an increased capacity to mount IgE-mediated reactions in FA, both in LA and SA. Show less
