Toxicity of Coarse and Fine Particulate Matter from Sites with Contrasting Traffic Profiles

The biological and pathological effects of the particulate matter (PM) samples on the lungs and the vascular system of spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rats were compared. Fibrinogen, a marker of the coagulation response, was determined in citrate plasma. All biological effect parameters were log-transformed, and a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) ascorbate concentrations were generally reduced, but only significantly so for rats exposed to the highest dose of the coarse PM fractions from the locations Munich Ost Bahnhof (MOB), Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht (HIA), and Lycksele (LYC). Pronounced and dose-dependent pulmonary inflammation was evoked by both PM fractions in all of the tested PM and was characterized by airway neutrophilia, increased macrophage numbers, and a mild lymphocytosis in the BALF.