Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Original article
Components of ambient air pollution affect thrombin generation in healthy humans: the RAPTES project
  1. Maciej Strak1,2,
  2. Gerard Hoek2,
  3. Maaike Steenhof2,
  4. Evren Kilinc3,
  5. Krystal J Godri4,5,
  6. Ilse Gosens1,
  7. Ian S Mudway4,
  8. René van Oerle3,
  9. Henri M H Spronk3,
  10. Flemming R Cassee1,
  11. Frank J Kelly4,
  12. Roy M Harrison5,6,
  13. Bert Brunekreef2,7,
  14. Erik Lebret1,2,
  15. Nicole A H Janssen1
  1. 1Centre for Environmental Health (MGO), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
  2. 2Division of Environmental Epidemiology and Division of Toxicology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  3. 3Laboratory for Clinical Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
  4. 4Environmental Research Group, MRC-HPA Centre for Environmental Health, King's College London, London, UK
  5. 5Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
  6. 6Department of Environmental Sciences, Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  7. 7Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  1. Correspondence to Dr Nicole A H Janssen, Centre for Environmental Health (MGO), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, Bilthoven 3720BA, The Netherlands; nicole.janssen{at}rivm.nl

Abstract

Objectives Increases in ambient particulate matter (PM) have been associated with an elevated risk of stroke, myocardial ischaemia and coronary heart disease, with activation of blood coagulation likely playing an important role. PM-mediated activation of two major activation pathways of coagulation provides a potential mechanism for the observed association between PM and cardiovascular disease. However, it remains unclear which specific characteristics and components of air pollution are responsible.

Methods In order to investigate those characteristics and components, we semiexperimentally exposed healthy adult volunteers at five different locations with increased contrasts and reduced correlations among PM characteristics. Volunteers were exposed for 5 h, exercising intermittently, 3–7 times at different sites from March to October 2009. On site, we measured PM mass and number concentration, its oxidative potential (OP), content of elemental/organic carbon, trace metals, sulphate, nitrate and gaseous pollutants (ozone, nitrogen oxides). Before and 2 and 18 h after exposure we sampled blood from the participants and measured thrombin generation using the calibrated automated thrombogram.

Results We found that thrombin generation increases in the intrinsic (FXII-mediated) blood coagulation pathway in relation to ambient air pollution exposure. The associations with NO2, nitrate and sulphate were consistent and robust, insensitive to adjustment for other pollutants. The associations with tissue factor-mediated thrombogenicity were not very consistent.

Conclusions Ex vivo thrombin generation was associated with exposure to NO2, nitrate and sulphate, but not PM mass, PM OP or other measured air pollutants.

  • experimental exposure
  • thrombin generation
  • PM

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.