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Relationship: 2960
Title
Interaction with the lung cell membrane leads to Atherosclerosis
Upstream event
Downstream event
Key Event Relationship Overview
AOPs Referencing Relationship
AOP Name | Adjacency | Weight of Evidence | Quantitative Understanding | Point of Contact | Author Status | OECD Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Substance interaction with lung resident cell membrane components leading to atherosclerosis | non-adjacent | High | Moderate | Ulla Vogel (send email) | Under development: Not open for comment. Do not cite | Under Development |
Taxonomic Applicability
Term | Scientific Term | Evidence | Link |
---|---|---|---|
human | Homo sapiens | High | NCBI |
Sex Applicability
Sex | Evidence |
---|---|
Male | High |
Female | High |
Life Stage Applicability
Term | Evidence |
---|---|
Adults | High |
Key Event Relationship Description
This KER presents the association between the interaction of stressors with the lungs and atherosclerosis as the outcome. The evidence of the KER presented is based on mouse models of human atherosclerosis.
Evidence Collection Strategy
Evidence Supporting this KER
Biological Plausibility
The biological plausibility is moderate. Exposure to different stressors have been shown to induce the progression of atherosclerotic in mouse models of human atherosclerosis (see below). In humans, it has been hypothesized that air pollution, an example of stressor that interacts with the lungs, and cardiovascular diseases are linked by three pathways: i) translocation of inflammatory mediators from the lungs to the systemic circulation, ii) activation of alveolar receptors that results in the alteration of autonomic response and changes in cardiovascular function, and iii) translocation of particles (stressors) from the lungs to the systemic circulation 1,2.
Empirical Evidence
For this KER, exposure through the respiratory system (inhalation or intratracheal instillation) of stressors is considered as interaction with lung resident cell membrane components.
- ApoE-/- and double knockout ApoE-/-LDLr-/- mice exposed to concentrated ambient particles (110 µg/m3) for 6h/d, 5d/week for 5 months develop severe atherosclerosis. ApoE-/- mice exposed to concentrated ambient particles presented a 57% increase in aortic intima surface coverage by atherosclerotic lesion than mice exposed to air 3.
- Intrapharyngeal aspiration of singlewalled carbon nanotubes into ApoE-/- mice (20 µg/mouse every 2 weeks for 8 weeks) induced a significant increase in plaque progression 4.
- ApoE-/- mice on a Western diet showed an increase in atherosclerotic lesion area after exposure to fumes from gas metal arc-stainless steel welding (40 mg/m3) for 3h/day for 10 days 5.
- A modest increase in atherosclerotic plaque area was observed in ApoE-/- mice after intratracheal instillation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (0.5 mg/kg) once a week for four weeks 6.
- ApoE-/- mice, fed a Western diet and exposed to diesel exhaust particles through oropharyngeal aspiration (35 µg) twice a week for four weeks, presented an increased atherosclerotic lesions area 7.
- Intratracheal instillation of human serum amyloid A once a week for 10 weeks in ApoE-/- mice (on Western-type diet) induced atherosclerotic plaque progression 8.
In addition, several epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to particulate matter from air pollution is associated to cardiovascular diseases:
- A prospective study in six cities from USA showed that air pollution was associated with death from cardiopulmonary diseases 9.
- In Dublin, there was a decrease in black smoke concentration in air, along with a significant decrease in the number of cardiovascular deaths, after the 1990 ban on coal sales 10.
Uncertainties and Inconsistencies
ApoE-/- mice seem to have a moderate plaque progression when feed a normal diet, instead of high-fat diet, and exposed to the stressor for a short period 6.
Known modulating factors
Quantitative Understanding of the Linkage
Response-response Relationship
- Following the ban of coal in Dublin, a decrease of 70% of black smoke (35 μg/m3) was observed along with a 10.3% decrease (p<0.0001) in cardiovascular deaths 10.
- A prospective study following postmenopausal women from USA for 6 years observed that an increase of 10 μg of PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 μm) was associated with 24% increased risk of cardiovascular event and a 76% increased risk of death from a cardiovascular disease 11.
- Beelen et al. analyzed data from 22 European cohort studies on long-term exposure to air pollution and associations with cardiovascular diseases mortality. It was obtained that a PM2.5 increase of 5 μg/m3 was associated with 21% increased risk of death from cerebrovascular disease, while an increase of 10 μg/m3 of PM10 (particulate matter with a diameter of less than 10 μm) was associated with an 22% increased risk of death from cerebrovascular disease 12.
- Results from 11 cohort studies on long-term exposure to air pollution and incidence of acute coronary events showed a 13% increased risk of coronary events associated to 5 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5, and a 12% increased risk of coronary events associated to 10 μg/m3 increase of PM10 13.
- A cohort study of population living in Denmark between 2005 and 2017, and aged more than 50 years old, showed that a 5 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 was associated to a 22% increased risk of stroke, while an increase of 1.85 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 was associated to a 5.3% increased risk of myocardial infarction 14,15.
Time-scale
Known Feedforward/Feedback loops influencing this KER
Domain of Applicability
Mouse models of human atherosclerosis has been shown to present atherosclerotic lesion progression after exposure to concentrated ambient particles, welding fumes and diesel exhaust particles 3,5,7.
In humans, epidemiological studies have shown that air pollution, as a stressor that interacts with the lungs, is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases 14.
References
1 Miller, M. R. & Newby, D. E. Air pollution and cardiovascular disease: car sick. Cardiovasc Res 116, 279-294, doi:10.1093/cvr/cvz228 (2020).
2 Van Eeden, S., Leipsic, J., Paul Man, S. F. & Sin, D. D. The relationship between lung inflammation and cardiovascular disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 186, 11-16, doi:10.1164/rccm.201203-0455PP (2012).
3 Chen, L. C. & Nadziejko, C. Effects of subchronic exposures to concentrated ambient particles (CAPs) in mice. V. CAPs exacerbate aortic plaque development in hyperlipidemic mice. Inhal Toxicol 17, 217-224, doi:10.1080/08958370590912815 (2005).
4 Li, Z. et al. Cardiovascular effects of pulmonary exposure to single-wall carbon nanotubes. Environ Health Perspect 115, 377-382, doi:10.1289/ehp.9688 (2007).
5 Erdely, A. et al. Inhalation exposure of gas-metal arc stainless steel welding fume increased atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein E knockout mice. Toxicol Lett 204, 12-16, doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2011.03.030 (2011).
6 Mikkelsen, L. et al. Modest effect on plaque progression and vasodilatory function in atherosclerosis-prone mice exposed to nanosized TiO(2). Part Fibre Toxicol 8, 32, doi:10.1186/1743-8977-8-32 (2011).
7 Miller, M. R. et al. Diesel exhaust particulate increases the size and complexity of lesions in atherosclerotic mice. Part Fibre Toxicol 10, 61, doi:10.1186/1743-8977-10-61 (2013).
8 Christophersen, D. V. et al. Accelerated atherosclerosis caused by serum amyloid A response in lungs of ApoE(-/-) mice. FASEB J 35, e21307, doi:10.1096/fj.202002017R (2021).
9 Dockery, D. W. et al. An association between air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities. N Engl J Med 329, 1753-1759, doi:10.1056/NEJM199312093292401 (1993).
10 Clancy, L., Goodman, P., Sinclair, H. & Dockery, D. W. Effect of air-pollution control on death rates in Dublin, Ireland: an intervention study. Lancet 360, 1210-1214, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11281-5 (2002).
11 Miller, K. A. et al. Long-term exposure to air pollution and incidence of cardiovascular events in women. N Engl J Med 356, 447-458, doi:10.1056/NEJMoa054409 (2007).
12 Beelen, R. et al. Long-term exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular mortality: an analysis of 22 European cohorts. Epidemiology 25, 368-378, doi:10.1097/EDE.0000000000000076 (2014).
13 Cesaroni, G. et al. Long term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of acute coronary events: prospective cohort study and meta-analysis in 11 European cohorts from the ESCAPE Project. BMJ 348, f7412, doi:10.1136/bmj.f7412 (2014).
14 Poulsen, A. H. et al. 'Source-specific' air pollution and risk of stroke in Denmark. Int J Epidemiol 52, 727-737, doi:10.1093/ije/dyad030 (2023).
15 Poulsen, A. H. et al. Source-Specific Air Pollution Including Ultrafine Particles and Risk of Myocardial Infarction: A Nationwide Cohort Study from Denmark. Environ Health Perspect 131, 57010, doi:10.1289/EHP10556 (2023).
16 Vaduganathan, M., Mensah, G. A., Turco, J. V., Fuster, V. & Roth, G. A. The Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risk: A Compass for Future Health. J Am Coll Cardiol 80, 2361-2371, doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2022.11.005 (2022).