Early-Life Persistent Vitamin D Deficiency Alters Cardiopulmonary Responses to Particulate Matter-Enhanced Atmospheric Smog in Adult Mice

Abstract

Early life nutritional deficiencies can lead to increased cardiovascular susceptibility to environmental exposures. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of early life persistent vitamin D deficiency (VDD) on the cardiopulmonary response to a particulate matter-enhanced photochemical smog. Mice were fed a VDD or normal diet (ND) after weaning. At 17 weeks of age, mice were implanted with radiotelemeters to monitor electrocardiogram, heart rate (HR), and heart rate variability (HRV). Ventilatory function was measured throughout the diet before and after smog exposure using whole-body plethysmography. VDD mice had lower HR, increased HRV, and decreased tidal volume compared with ND. Regardless of diet, HR decreased during air exposure; this response was blunted by smog in ND mice and to a lesser degree in VDD. When compared with ND, VDD increased HRV during air exposure and more so with smog. However, smog only increased cardiac arrhythmias in ND mice. This study demonstrates that VDD alters the cardiopulmonary response to smog, highlighting the possible influence of nutritional factors in determining responses to air pollution. The mechanism of how VDD induces these effects is currently unknown, but modifiable factors should be considered when performing risk assessment of complex air pollution atmospheres.

Evaluation of an Air Quality Health Index for Predicting the Mutagenicity of Simulated Atmospheres

“…Support for this is found in the chemical analysis, which showed that the concentrations of formaldehyde, glyoxal, and methylglyoxal were twice as high in SA-O 3 than in SA-PM . The greater toxicity of SA-O 3 relative to SA-PM was also confirmed in parallel studies with rodents done in conjunction with the present study that also found that SA-O 3 produced more adverse metabolic, immunologic, and cardiovascular effects than did SA-PM. − …”

“…33 The greater toxicity of SA-O 3 relative to SA-PM was also confirmed in parallel studies with rodents done in conjunction with the present study that also found that SA-O 3 produced more adverse metabolic, immunologic, and cardiovascular effects than did SA-PM. [39][40][41] Four out of five comparisons showed that the mutagenic potency of SA-PM was not affected by the presence or absence of S9 or heat-inactivated S9, indicating that the mutagenic activity of SA-PM was generally direct-acting (Table 2). Further support for this is shown by the finding that two out of three comparisons showed no significant difference in the mutagenic potency of SA-PM in the presence of either S9 or HI S9 (Table 2).…”

Pyridostigmine Protects Against Diabetic Cardiomyopathy by Regulating Vagal Activity, Gut Microbiota, and Branched-Chain Amino Acid Catabolism in Diabetic Mice

“…The LF/HF ratio was determined as an estimate of the relative balance between sympathetic and vagal activity. The time-domain measures included the standard deviation of the normal-to-normal beat interval (SDNN) and the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) ( Stratford et al, 2018 ).…”

Effects of vitamin D on inflammatory and oxidative stress responses of human bronchial epithelial cells exposed to particulate matter

“…A few recent studies have examined a beneficial role for vitamin D in alleviating adverse effects of pollution in different contexts. Stratford and colleagues have shown vitamin D deficiency to affect the cardiopulmonary response to polluted air in mice [ 63 ]. In a diesel exhaust particle aggravated mouse model of asthma, Bolcas and colleagues have shown vitamin D to have the capacity to decrease airway hyperresponsiveness and pathological T cell populations in the lungs [ 64 ].…”