FIGURE 1.

Impact of PM_2.5 exposure on inflammatory processes. Inside the alveoli, PM_2.5 particles are taken up by macrophages and alveolar cells through phagocytosis (1), leading to higher calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum signaling pathways and causing phosphorylation of the MAPK family (2), which leads to enhanced gene transcription of NF-κB and AP-1 by phosphorylation and degradation of Iκ-B, and phosphorylation and activation of c-Jun, respectively (3). This transcriptional activation promotes the release of proinflammatory cytokines like IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α (4), which triggers a T2 inflammatory response and airway hyperreactivity (5). Figures created using Biorender, adapted from Liu et al. (2022a), licensed CC-BY 4.0, and Lee et al. (2023), licensed CC-BY-NC 4.0.