title: Development of an on-line exposure system to determine freshly produced diesel engine emission-induced cellular effects.
abstract: Diesel engine emission particle filters are often placed at exhaust outlets to remove particles from the exhaust. The use of filters results in the exposure to a reduced number of nanometer-sized particles, which might be more harmful than the exposure to a larger number of micrometer-sized particles. An in vitro exposure system was established to expose human alveolar epithelial cells to freshly generated exhaust. Computer simulations were used to determine the optimal flow characteristics and ensure equal exposure conditions for each well of a 6-well plate. A selective particle size sampler was used to continuously deliver diesel soot particles with different particle size distributions to cells in culture. To determine, whether the system could be used for cellular assays, alterations in cytokine production and cell viability of human alveolar A549 cells were determined after 3h on-line exposure followed by a 21-h conventional incubation period. Data indicated that complete diesel engine emission slightly affected pre-stimulated cells, but naive cells were not affected. The fractions containing large or small particles never affected the cells. The experimental set-up allowed a reliable exposure of the cells to the complete exhaust fraction or to the fractions containing either large or small diesel engine emission particles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. gertie.oostingh@fh-salzburg.ac.at
authors.forename: Gertie J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Oostingh
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Papaioannou
authors.forename: Leonidas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chasapidis
authors.forename: Theofylaktos
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akritidis
authors.forename: Athanasios G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Konstandopoulos
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duschl
mesh_terms: D000263:Adenylate Kinase / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D009862:Online Systems; D010316:Particle Size; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D000263:Adenylate Kinase
keywords: Cell exposure; Diesel engine emission; Exhaust filter