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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Measuring Carbon Content in Airway Macrophages Exposed to Carbon-Containing Particulate Matters
Published on: July 12, 2024
[Traffic-related pollutants and their impact on allergic respiratory diseases]
1Pneumologie A, Hôpital Bichat--Inserm U700, Faculté de médecine Bichat, 46, rue Henri Huchard 75018 Paris. michel.aubier@bch.aphp.fr
Abstract:
There is good evidence that urban air pollutants, and particularly diesel exhaust particles (DP), contribute to the increasing prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis. Diesel exhaust particles act as adjuvants in the immune response and may aggravate allergic inflammation. This was first suggested by epidemiological studies and has now been largely confirmed by numerous experimental studies in animals and humans. We review the different underlying mechanisms, including effects on cytokine and chemokine production and immune cell activation. We also discuss the metabolic and cellular activation pathways followed by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and allergens, and their interaction with diesel particles, which act in synergy in this immune response, resulting in IgE production and triggering allergic inflammation.
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