| Affiliation: | (1) Division of Environmental Medicine, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O. Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403, Oslo, Norway;(2) Centre for Environmental Health Research, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, NL-3720 BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands |
| Abstract: | Background Several studies have demonstrated an association between exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Inflammation seems to play an important role in the observed health effects. However, the predominant particle component(s) that drives the inflammation is still not fully clarified. In this study representative coarse (2.5–10 μm) and fine (0.1–2.5 μm) particulate samples from a western, an eastern, a northern and a southern European city (Amsterdam, Lodz, Oslo and Rome) were collected during three seasons (spring, summer and winter). All fractions were investigated with respect to cytokine-inducing potential in primary macrophages isolated from rat lung. The results were related to the physical and chemical parameters of the samples in order to disclose possible connections between inflammatory potential and specific characteristics of the particles. |
