title: Composition of PM affects acute vascular inflammatory and coagulative markers - the RAPTES project.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) has been associated with adverse cardiovascular effects in epidemiological studies. Current knowledge of independent effects of individual PM characteristics remains limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a semi-experimental design we investigated which PM characteristics were consistently associated with blood biomarkers believed to be predictive of the risk of cardiovascular events. We exposed healthy adult volunteers at 5 different locations chosen to provide PM exposure contrasts with reduced correlations among PM characteristics. Each of the 31 volunteers was exposed for 5 h, exercising intermittently, 3-7 times at different sites from March to October 2009. Extensive on-site exposure characterization included measurements of PM mass and number concentration, elemental- (EC) and organic carbon (OC), trace metals, sulfate, nitrate, and PM oxidative potential (OP). Before and 2 h and 18 h after exposure we measured acute vascular blood biomarkers - C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, platelet counts, von Willebrand Factor, and tissue plasminogen activator/plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 complex. We used two-pollutant models to assess which PM characteristics were most consistently associated with the measured biomarkers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found OC, nitrate and sulfate to be most consistently associated with different biomarkers of acute cardiovascular risk. Associations with PM mass concentrations and OP were less consistent, whereas other measured components of the air pollution mixture, including PNC, EC, trace metals and NO2, were not associated with the biomarkers after adjusting for other pollutants.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Health (MGO), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strak
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hoek
authors.forename: Krystal J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Godri
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gosens
authors.forename: Ian S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Mudway
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Oerle
authors.forename: Henri M H
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Spronk
authors.forename: Flemming R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Cassee
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lebret
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Roy M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brunekreef
authors.forename: Maaike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steenhof
authors.forename: Nicole A H
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Janssen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000187:drug effects*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced; D008297:Male; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000633:toxicity*; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D010976:Platelet Count; D012306:Risk; D013997:Time Factors; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000378:metabolism; D014116:Toxicology; D055815:Young Adult; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D015415:Biomarkers; D052638:Particulate Matter; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; D014841:von Willebrand Factor; D005340:Fibrinogen; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator