Exposure to airpollution and activation of the cascade system in small airways

Research Project, 2021 – 2023

WHO estimated that 9 millions of people die prematurely each year due to exposure to air pollution. Still, the
underlying mechanisms are not fully understood, but it seems that they are associated with disturbed
hemostasis. In the lung, hemostasis is of great importance: coagulation-, complement- and contact systems
interacts to detoxify inhaled material. The liquid layer covering the small airways, where most inhaled particles
deposit, contains both coagulation and complement factors. In a small experimental study on exposure to diesel
exhaust, we found that complement-factors are activated locally, using a novel in-house developed method to
sample lining fluid from small airways.
The purpose of the project is to investigate if activation of complement factors, which can easily be measured in
exhaled air, can be used as a biomarker for adverse effects of exposure to air pollution, and if there subjects
with C OPD are more susceptible?
80 subjects with mild-moderate C OPD and 80 healthy controls, recruited from a large population-based cohort,
half of them living close to a highly trafficated road, the other half in a more clean environment. They will be
examined three times to allow assessments of within- and between-subjects variability. A successful completion
of the project will generate new knowledge on the mechanism behind adverse effects of air pollution, which will
be of great importance both for preventive health work and to identify entirely new treatment targets.