INSIDE Project: Individual Air Pollution Exposure, Extracellular Vesicles Signaling and Hypertensive Disorder Development in Pregnancy

Abstract

Hypertensive disorders are common complications during pregnancy (HDP) with substantial public health impact. Acute and chronic particulate matter (PM) exposure during pregnancy increases the risk of HDP, although the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) may be the ideal candidates for mediating the effects of PM exposure in pregnancy as they are released in response to environmental stimuli. The INSIDE project aims to investigate this mechanism in pregnancy outcomes. The study population is enrolled at the Fetal Medicine Unit of Fondazione IRCCS Ca’Granda—Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico at 10–14 weeks of gestation. Exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 is assessed using the flexible air quality regional model (FARM) and Bayesian geostatistical models. Each woman provides a blood sample for EV analysis and circulating biomarker assessment. Moreover, a subgroup of recruited women (n = 85) is asked to participate in a cardiovascular screening program including a standard clinical evaluation, a non-invasive assessment of right ventricular function, and pulmonary circulation at rest and during exercise. These subjects are also asked to wear a personal particulate sampler, to measure PM10, PM2.5, and PM1. The INSIDE study is expected to identify the health impacts of PM exposure on pregnancy outcomes.

Understanding the Interplay between Air Pollution, Biological Variables, and Major Depressive Disorder: Rationale and Study Protocol of the DeprAir Study

“…This aim will be achieved by considering two methods for environmental exposure, thus maximizing the probability of assigning accurate exposure values to our population. Both approaches have proved their soundness in similar settings, as documented in previous studies on health effects of air pollution exposure [ 44 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. In particular, the assignment of personal exposures based on residential address using daily pollutant levels at a 1 × 1 km resolution represents the best compromise between spatial and temporal resolution that we can currently achieve when considering our entire regional territory.…”

Particulate Matter in Human Elderly: Higher Susceptibility to Cognitive Decline and Age-Related Diseases

“…In addition, EVs released upon PM exposure provoke disease outcomes in the molecular mechanism. The INSIDE study identified the health impacts of PM exposure during pregnancy and hypertensive disorder development, demonstrating a link between PM exposure and EVs, such as biomarkers and mediators of cardiovascular disease [114]. Moreover, another study demonstrated that PM 2.5 is associated with endothelial dysfunction and increases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality risk due to vascular aging.…”

Sentinel-5p No2 Data: Cross-Validation and Comparison With Ground Measurements

“…Numerous projects link human disorders to air pollution, we report here only a few that are representative of the wide variety of impacts. In pregnancy (Ferrari et al, 2020), in asthma and lung function (Rusconi et al, 2011) and others that indirectly impact the human body. NO2 specifically was found to be linked to paediatric asthma also in cities with NO2 emissions lower then the guideline from the WHO (Achakulwisut et al, 2019).…”