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Updated: Jan 15, 2026
Measuring Carbon Content in Airway Macrophages Exposed to Carbon-Containing Particulate Matters
Published on: July 12, 2024
Seasonal and COVID-19 lockdown variations in PM2.5 composition to apoptosis pathways and chemical toxicity in lung
Ting-Hsuan Wu1, Yu-Cheng Chen2, Hong-Lin Chan3
1Institute of Analytical and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC.
Objective:
To investigate seasonal and COVID-19-lockdown variations in PM2.5 chemical composition in Taipei and the effects of those compositional differences on lung cell toxicity.
Methods:
PM2.5 was collected in warm (2021/07-2021/08) and cold (2021/11-2022/02) seasons and during LV2/LV3 COVID-19 alert periods. Composition (metals, PAHs) was analyzed and A549 and PC9 lung cells were exposed to equal mass concentrations (0-100 μg/mL) of extracted PM2.5. Cell viability, ROS, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential and GSH/GPX4 were measured.
Results:
At equivalent mass concentrations (50 μg/mL), warm-season PM2.5 induced higher ROS and greater reduction in viability than cold-season PM2.5. LV2-period PM2.5 contained higher metal content and caused more severe cellular damage than LV3. Spearman correlation plus single-compound assays identified cadmium and Dibenzo[a,e]pyrene as components strongly associated with cytotoxicity.
Conclusions:
Seasonal and human-activity driven compositional changes-rather than mass concentration alone-affect PM2.5 toxicity in vitro; these results underscore the importance of controlling specific chemical emissions.
