Abstract
Particulate matter (PM) exposures have been linked to mortality, low birth weights, hospital admissions, and diseases associated with metabolic syndrome, including diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. In a previous
in vitro
and
in vivo
study, data demonstrated that PM
10µm
collected from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (PM
SA
) altered expression of genes involved in lipid and cholesterol metabolism, as well as many other genes associated with metabolic disorders. PM
SA
contains a relatively high concentration of nickel (Ni), known to be linked to several metabolic disorders. In order to evaluate if Ni and PM exposures induce similar gene expression profiles, mice were exposed to 100µg/50µl PM
SA
(PM-100), 50µg/50µl nickel chloride (Ni-50), or 100µg/50µl nickel chloride (Ni-100) twice a week for 4 weeks and hepatic gene expression changes determined. Ultimately, 55 of the same genes were altered in all 3 exposures. However, where the two Ni groups differed markedly was in the regulation (up or down) of these genes. Ni-100 and PM-100 groups displayed similar regulations, whereby 104 of the 107 genes were similarly modulated. Many of the 107 genes involved in metabolic syndrome and include
ALDH4A1, BCO2, CYP1A, CYP2U, TOP2A
. In addition, the top affected pathways such as fatty acid α-oxidation, and lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, are involved in metabolic diseases. Most notably, the top diseased outcome affected by these changes in gene expression was cardiovascular disease. Given these data, it appears that Ni and PM
SA
exposures display similar gene expression profiles, modulating the expression of genes involved in metabolic disorders.