Toxicological evaluation of diesel emissions on A549 cells

To evaluate the health effects of diesel emissions (DE) using an in vitro experiment, A549 cells were exposed to emission from a diesel engine on an engine dynamo, using a culture-cell-exposure device. Three groups were set according to cell exposure to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and/or nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)). The emissions of each group was dilution rate 1:100 and 1:10, and PM was 0.8mg/m(3) and/or NO(2) was 80ppm at dilution rate 1:10. After 1h, exposed cells were analyzed for cell viability and gene expression. Fifty percent of cell viability in the high-PM/high-NO(2) exposure group occurred at a dilution rate of 1:14, based on the concentration of CO(2). Heme oxygenase-1 mRNA expression significantly increased at 1:100 dilution of the high-PM/high-NO(2) group and 1:100 and 1:10 dilutions of the high-PM/low-NO(2) group, compared to background air. By DNA microarray, all gene expressions at a dilution rate of 1:10 in each group were observed to be higher than those at 1:100, and some cancer-related genes up-regulated. We concluded that screening methods for evaluating health effects could be established using this cell-exposure system because the effects of DE on A549 cells were shown by cell viability and gene expression.