Air Pollution: Another Threat to HDL Function.
Alice OssoliFederica CettiMonica GomaraschiPublished in: International journal of molecular sciences (2022)
Epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated a positive association between exposure to air pollutants and the incidence of cardiovascular disease, with the strongest evidence for particles with a diameter < 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ). Therefore, air pollution has been included among the modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular outcomes as cardiovascular mortality, acute coronary syndrome, stroke, heart failure, and arrhythmias. Interestingly, the adverse effects of air pollution are more pronounced at higher levels of exposure but were also shown in countries with low levels of air pollution, indicating no apparent safe threshold. It is generally believed that exposure to air pollution in the long-term can accelerate atherosclerosis progression by promoting dyslipidemia, hypertension, and other metabolic disorders due to systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. Regarding high density lipoproteins (HDL), the impact of air pollution on plasma HDL-cholesterol levels is still debated, but there is accumulating evidence that HDL function can be impaired. In particular, the exposure to air pollution has been variably associated with a reduction in their cholesterol efflux capacity, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential, and ability to promote the release of nitric oxide. Further studies are needed to fully address the impact of various air pollutants on HDL functions and to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for HDL dysfunction.
Keyphrases
- air pollution
- particulate matter
- lung function
- oxidative stress
- cardiovascular disease
- heart failure
- acute coronary syndrome
- nitric oxide
- anti inflammatory
- high density
- blood pressure
- atrial fibrillation
- type diabetes
- magnetic resonance imaging
- emergency department
- signaling pathway
- risk assessment
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- brain injury
- metabolic syndrome
- computed tomography
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- congenital heart disease
- ischemia reperfusion injury
- cerebral ischemia
- low density lipoprotein
- induced apoptosis
- cardiac resynchronization therapy
- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons