Extracellular vesicles as actors in the air pollution related cardiopulmonary diseases

Abstract

Many associations were reported between air pollution and daily mortality rates for cardiopulmonary diseases. Humans are exposed to a mixture of oxidizing gases and particles, both anthropogenic and natural. Exposure to air toxics causes or exacerbates cardiovascular damages and respiratory diseases. Numerous studies have identified the induction of oxidative stress and sustained inflammatory response as among the main known underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of air pollutants. More recently, the relationship between these mechanisms of action and the secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs) by lung cells has been revealed. EVs have been shown to be important mediators of cellular communication in the body. The purpose of this review is to first recall the main air pollutants. Then, the cardiopulmonary diseases caused by exposure to air pollution and the pathophysiological mechanisms are presented before showing, through an exhaustive review of the literature, the involvement of EVs in the toxicity of air pollutants and the initiation of cardiopulmonary diseases.

Keywords:

• Extracellular vesicles
• air pollutants
• particulate matter
• cigarette smoke
• cardiopulmonary diseases
• lung cancer
• COPD

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the two anonymous reviewers for their time and dedication in reviewing the manuscript. Their comments, questions, and suggestions received from reviewers helped to shape and improve the final paper.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interests. The author’s affiliation is as shown on the cover page. The institutions with which the authors are affiliated are academic institutions, and the authors take sole responsibility for the writing and content of the manuscript. First author, S. Alkoussa benefited from PhD grant from the Pôle Métropolitain de la Côte d’Opale and the Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale. The research teams UCEIV and IMPECS are supported by the CPER research projects CLIMIBIO and IRENE. The authors thank the French Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche, the Hauts-de-France Region, and the European Funds for Regional Development for their financial support. None of the authors have been involved in legal or regulatory matters related to the contents of the paper.