Gene expression of inflammatory markers in an experimental assay with diabetic rats exposed to atmospheric pollution Carolina Rosa Gaia Silveira, José Paulo Brandoli Martins, Monique Matsuda, Mônica Valéria Marquezini, Daniel Siquieroli Vilas Boas

Abstract

There are currently around 3.2 billion people living in urban areas in the world. All of them are subject to atmospheric pollution formed by particles and gases, coming from different emission sources. Several studies are being conducted to verify its effects on public health, as many of these sources contain mutagenic chemicals and there is evidence that the risk of type 2 diabetes and subclinical inflammation may be increased in more polluted locations. In diabetic rats exposed to diesel particles, a more pronounced decrease in the size and number of pancreatic islet cells and cellular vacuolization associated with a significant increase in apoptotic cells were observed. This study aimed to quantify the gene expression of interleukin-6 in an experimental test with diabetic rats exposed to air pollution in the city of São Paulo. Heart biopsies from Wistar rats exposed to pollution in the chambers of the Harvard Atmospheric Fine Particle Concentrator were used in this study. Analysis of the transcriptional expression of the inflammation marker gene was performed by PCR. The expression of the IL-6 gene was increased (174.19%, p<0.001) in the experimental groups in relation to the control groups.