Long term exposure to transboundary air pollution including Asian dust storm airborne particles may potentiate carcinogenesis

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25740028
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental impact assessment
• Research Institution: Tottori University
• Principal Investigator: KURAI Jun 鳥取大学, 医学部附属病院, 助教 (70529396)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 黄砂 / 長期曝露 / 炎症発癌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The objective of this study is to examine the association of carcinogenesis with long term exposure of Asian dust storm (ADS) airborne particles in vitro. Our data showed that ADS airborne particles exposure to cultured tracheal epithelial cells induced inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress within a relatively short time. These data imply a potentially important role for link between carcinogenesis and ADS airborne particles exposure. We also initiated studies aimed at analyzing the element of human lung tissue samples which was derived from lung cancer patients in West Japan. Tissue samples of smoking and never-smoking patients were analyzed by the X-ray fluorescence spectrometry method. We could not detect the difference of element distribution between smokers and never-smokers about the non-soil component attached on ADS airborne particle. Further studies are needed to reveal the adverse health effect of long term exposure for human lung tissue.

Free Research Field

呼吸器内科学