Characterization of protein expression of Platanus pollen following exposure to gaseous pollutants and vehicle exhaust particles

Abstract

Being major ornamental street trees, species of Platanus are widely planted in the Shanghai urban area. A great deal of allergenic Platanus pollen is released from the trees and suspended in the atmosphere during its flowering season, ultimately causing allergic respiratory diseases. Few papers have focused on the distribution of this type of pollen and its expression of allergenic proteins. In order to investigate any differences in protein expression in Platanus pollen following exposure to gaseous and particulate pollutants, a special apparatus was designed. Exposure condition (such as temperature, humidity, and exposure time) of Platanus pollen and gaseous pollutants can be simulated using of this apparatus. Fresh Platanus orientalis pollen, pollutant gases (NO2, SO2, NH3), and typical urban ambient particles (vehicle exhaust particles, VEPs) were mixed in this device to examine possible changes that might occur in ambient airborne urban pollen following exposure to such pollutants. Our results showed that the fresh P. orientalis pollen became swollen, and new kinds of particles could be found on the surface of the pollen grains after exposure to the pollutants. The results of SDS-PAGE showed that five protein bands with molecular weights of 17–19, 34, 61, 82, and 144 kDa, respectively, were detected and gray scale of these brands increased after the pollen exposure to gaseous pollutants. The two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis demonstrated that a Platanus pollen allergenic protein (Pla a1, with a molecular weight of 18 kDa) increased in abundance following exposure to pollutant gases and VEPs, implying that air pollutants may exacerbate the allergenicity of pollen.

Detoxification strategies and regulation of oxygen production and flowering of Platanus acerifolia under lead (Pb) stress by transcriptome analysis

“…This can cause severe pollinosis (Lu et al 2012) and has been reported to aggravate breathing difficulties in asthma patients (Subiza et al 1994;Varela et al 1997). The leaf structure, pest control, pollen, and cold resistance of P. acerifolia have all been reported (Li et al 2007;Lu et al 2012Lu et al , 2014Mimet et al 2009;Zhang et al 2011). Genetic engineering approaches have focused on breeding nonflowering or fruitless varieties through overexpressing a flowering repressor gene (Jensen CS 2004).…”

“…Platanus acerifolia (London plane tree) is a hybrid of Platanus occidentalis and Platanus orientalis (Li et al 2007;Lu et al 2012Lu et al , 2014Mimet et al 2009;Zhang et al 2011) and is an avenue tree in temperate and subtropical regions (Lu et al 2012). P. acerifolia has many desirable characteristics, such as root compaction, rapid growth, and tolerance to pruning and atmospheric pollution (Li et al 2007;Zhang et al 2011).…”

Air Phytoremediation

“…Most studies of this phenomenon were conducted on the protein Bet v 1, birch pollen, and it was confirmed, on molecular level, as a posttranslational modification of this protein by NO 2 [25]. In a polluted environment, higher allergenicity and changes in the protein composition of the pollen of Platanus orientalis was noted, one of the most important species in urban forestry of the warmer area of the world [26]. Also, pollen of invasive weed Artemisia artemisiifolia is more potent in allergenicity at elevated levels of NO 2 [27].…”

Analysis of morphological and molecular composition changes in allergenic Artemisia vulgaris L. pollen under traffic pollution using SEM and FTIR spectroscopy

“…Dominant pollutants are nitrogen, sulfur and carbon oxides, ozone, and PM10 (Wang et al 2008). Many authors claimed that air pollution affects the decrease in pollen viability and production; pollen grains may be smaller, often deformed or crashed (Majd et al 2004; Rezanejad 2009; Lu et al 2014; Sénéchal et al 2015; Kaur et al 2015). Chemical pollution may influence the biochemical composition of pollen.…”

“…Conversely, Majd et al (2004) detected a decrease of protein content in pollen. Consequently, chemical air pollutants may alter the allergenic potency of pollen by inducing substantial molecular changes of proteins, consisting in their nitration and oxidation (Alscher et al 1997; Bryce et al 2010; Karle et al 2012; Ackaert et al 2014; Lu et al 2014). Guedes et al (2009) stated differences in protein profiles in pollen sampled from polluted sites.…”