A model of human nasal epithelial cells adapted for direct and repeated exposure to airborne pollutants

June 21, 2014

2014 Jun 21;229(1):144-149. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2014.05.023. Epub ahead of print.

Authors
Bardet G.1, Achard S.2, Loret T.3, Desauziers V.4, Momas I.5, Seta N.6

1 Université Paris Descartes, EA 4064, Laboratoire de Santé Publique et Environnement, 4, Avenue de l'Observatoire, 75006 Paris, France; Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie, Angers, France.
2 Université Paris Descartes, EA 4064, Laboratoire de Santé Publique et Environnement, 4, Avenue de l'Observatoire, 75006 Paris, France.
3 Université Paris Descartes, EA 4064, Laboratoire de Santé Publique et Environnement, 4, Avenue de l'Observatoire, 75006 Paris, France.
4 Centre des Matériaux des Mines d'Alès, Ecole des Mines d'Alès, Pau, France.
5 Université Paris Descartes, EA 4064, Laboratoire de Santé Publique et Environnement, 4, Avenue de l'Observatoire, 75006 Paris, France
6 Université Paris Descartes, EA 4064, Laboratoire de Santé Publique et Environnement, 4, Avenue de l'Observatoire, 75006 Paris, France; AP-HP, Hôpital Bichat, Biochimie, Paris, France.

The exposure to gaseous pollutants at the air-liquid interface shows an effect on the respiratory tract. The repeated exposition enables a model that gets closer to physiologically relevant conditions. Inflammatory marker IL-6 and IL-8, cellular viability and cytokine production were assessed.

Abstract

Airway epithelium lining the nasal cavity plays a pivotal role in respiratory tract defense and protection mechanisms. Air pollution induces alterations linked to airway diseases such as asthma. Only very few in vitro studies to date have succeeded in reproducing physiological conditions relevant to cellular type and chronic atmospheric pollution exposure. We therefore, set up an in vitro model of human Airway Epithelial Cells of Nasal origin (hAECN) close to real human cell functionality, specifically adapted to study the biological effects of exposure to indoor gaseous pollution at the environmental level. hAECN were exposed under air-liquid interface, one, two, or three-times at 24 h intervals for 1 h, to air or formaldehyde (200 μg/m(3)), an indoor air gaseous pollutant. All experiments were ended at day 4, when both cellular viability and cytokine production were assessed. Optimal adherence and confluence of cells were obtained 96 h after cell seeding onto collagen IV-precoated insert. Direct and repeated exposure to formaldehyde did not produce any cellular damage or IL-6 production change, although weak lower IL-8 production was observed only after the third exposure. Our model is significantly better than previous ones due to cell type and the repeated exposure protocol.

Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

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