How Air Pollution Affects Lung Tissue, Increasing Risk of Developing Cancer

According to a new study, scientists have discovered a mechanism that explains how small air pollution particles may trigger lung cancer.

The impact of air pollution on your lungs is determined by the kind and mix of pollutants in the air, as well as the concentration of pollutants and how much of each pollutant reaches your lungs.

Air pollution on lung cancer

(Photo : JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

The discoveries might pave the way for novel techniques for preventing or treating the disease's early stages.

Fine particulate matter (FPM), a tiny, inhalable particle present in air pollution, has been identified as a Group 1 carcinogen and a significant hazard to world health.

FPM's cancer-causing mechanism, on the other hand, is unknown.

"Notwithstanding its potential to cause mutations, recent research suggests that FPM does not directly promote and may even inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells," says first author Zhenzhen Wang, an associate researcher at Nanjing University (NJU) in Nanjing, China, who conducted the research in collaboration with labs at NJU and the University of Macau, where she was supported by a University of Macau Fellowship, as per ScienceDaily.

To investigate this possibility, Wang and his colleagues gathered FPM from seven different areas in China and evaluated its effects on cytotoxic T-cells, which are the key immune cells that fight tumor development (CTLs).

CTLs were attracted to the lungs of mice given lung cancer cells but not exposed to FPM to eliminate the tumor cells.

CTL infiltration was delayed in mice whose lungs were exposed to FPM, presumably allowing tumor cells to establish themselves in lung tissue.

The scientists looked at both the CTLs and the lung tissue structure to figure out why the CTLs didn't reach the lungs as rapidly in the FPM-exposed lungs.

CTLs exposed to FPM preserved their migratory capabilities, but FPM treatment significantly constricted the lung tissue structure and the gaps between which immune cells migrate.

Collagen a protein that provides biomechanical support for cells and tissues was also substantially greater.

When the researchers looked at the mobility of CTLs in mice, they found that those in FPM-treated lung tissue struggled to move, but those in untreated tissue moved readily.

The effects of air pollution on your lungs

If you have a respiratory ailment, high pollution levels might aggravate your symptoms, such as an asthma attack or a COPD flare-up.

When pollution levels are high, people with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more frequently than usual. It's also critical that you use your preventer inhaler on a regular basis.

Long-term exposure to air pollution, according to a study, may lead to the development of various lung diseases.

There is strong evidence that outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer, and long-term air pollution exposure may be associated with the development of asthma.

Although it is uncertain if outdoor air pollution levels in the UK have a role in the development of COPD, air pollution is a lower risk factor than smoking in the UK.

Air pollution can also alter how children's lungs grow if they are exposed to it for an extended length of time, according to research.

New data also suggests that children who grow up in polluted environments are more likely to acquire asthma.

Tags air pollution, lung tissue, cancer