Particulate matter, which is produced during combustion processes, for example, is harmful to your health. More and more studies are now pointing to this. Especially those particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) and can penetrate the bronchi and alveoli are suspected of promoting many diseases: cardiovascular disease, asthma, lung cancer and possibly dementia.
But until now, it’s unclear exactly what the mechanisms behind it look like. Therefore, a team led by Charles Swanton of the Francis Crick Institute in London closely studied this question, looking for a special type of lung cancer. In a large cohort study with data from more than 32,000 people from England, South Korea, Taiwan and Canada, animal and cell experiments, researchers were not only able to show a high level of fine dust in the ambient air in people who actually did. Carrying a special mutation, it is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. They also found evidence that fine dust particles trigger inflammatory reactions in cells, which increases the development of lung cancer. The group reports on its results In the journal “Nature”.
Swanton and colleagues focused their study on non-small cell lung cancer associated with a genetic change in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). This type of lung cancer is relatively common among non-smokers. Experiments in which scientists introduced the EGFR mutation specifically into cells of the respiratory tract of mice or into cells of lung tissue in cell cultures showed that fine dust particles did not appear to induce the mutations themselves. However, they ensure that when an EGFR mutation is present, immune cells aggregate in the lungs and trigger pro-inflammatory signals. At least one of them – interleukin-1β – appears to favor the development of early tumor forms.
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