Comparative and Laboratory Animal Medicine Commons^™

Ahr Activation At The Air-Blood Barrier Alters Systemic Microrna Release After Inhalation Of Particulate Matter Containing Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals, Ankit Aryal, Ashlyn C. Harmon, Alexandra Noël, Qingzhao Yu, Kurt J. Varner, Tammy R. Dugas

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Particulate matter containing environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) is formed when organic pollutants are incompletely burned and adsorb to the surface of particles containing redox-active metals. Our prior studies showed that in mice, EPFR inhalation impaired vascular relaxation in a dose- and endothelium-dependent manner. We also observed that activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in the alveolar type-II (AT-II) cells that form the air-blood interface stimulates the release of systemic factors that promote endothelial dysfunction in vessels peripheral to the lung. AhR is a recognized regulator of microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis, and miRNA control diverse signaling pathways. We thus hypothesized …