Table 1.

Summary of the effects of PMs in animal models and human populations.

Pollutant	Model	Concentration or Dose	Damage	Disease Markers Signaling Factors	Diseases	References
PM2.5 Beijing, China	ApoE-/- mice	Intranasal 4 mg/kg Single or repeated	Nitrooxidative stress	NO ↑, iNOS ↑, MMP9 ↑ TIMP-1 ↑, ICAM-1 ↑ TNF-α ↑, IL-6 ↑ MDA ↑, SOD ↓	Undefined	Long et al., 2020 [20]
PM2.5 Diesel NIST standard 2975, Merck	Male BALB/c mice	Intranasal 100 µg/40 µL per animal. (OVA 400 µg/20 µL) per animal	Oxidative stress Inflammation	MDA ↑,SOD ↓, HO1 ↓ NFκB ↑, Nrf2 ↓, IL-4 ↑ IL-5 ↑, IL-13 ↑, IL-17 ↑ IL-17 ↑, TGF-β1 ↓	Allergic Rhinitis	Piao et al., 2021 [21]
PM2.5 Tangshan City, China	Sprague–Dawley male rats	Intratracheal 20 mg/kg/7 days (3, 6 and 12 months)	Behavioral tests Apoptosis Oxidative stress	Spatial learning and memory ability ↓ Inquiring ability ↓ Sensory function ↓ SOD and GSH-Px ↓ MDA ↑, myelin sheath integrity ↓, apoptosis↑ mitochondrial damage ↑	Aging AD PD MS	Zhang et al., 2018 [22]
Ambient dusty PM	Male Wistar rats	Ambient PM inhalation 200–500 μg/m3 500–2000 μg/m3 2000–8000 μg/m3 30 min/twice daily/4 weeks	BBB Electrophysiology Edema Histology Behavior Oxidative stress Inflammation	BBB permeability ↑, Edema ↑, spatial learning, and memory ↓ LTP ↓, MDA ↑, GPx ↓ TNF-α ↑, IL-10 ↓	AD, PD ADHD COPD ASD, ANX Stroke N-AD	Hajipour et al., 2019 [23]
MCMA ambient PM10 PM2.5	Mongrel dogs (15 M/25 F)	PM10 78 µg/m3 PM2.5 21.6 µg/m3	Apoptosis Nitrooxidative stress Inflammation	TUNEL glial cells ↑, Astrocytosis(GFAP+) ↑ COX 2 ↑, iNOS ↑, NFκB ↑, ApoE ↑, Aβ ↑ Reactive microgliosis ↑	AD PD	Calderon-Garciduenas et al., 2003 [31]
MCMA FPM < 2.5 PM2.5	School children (11.69 yo)	PM2.5: 22.3 to 16.8 μg/m3 O3: 0.165 to 0.129 ppm 8 h exposure	Metabolism	ET-1, leptin, glucose ↑ Ghrelin, GLP-1 ↓, glucagon ↓, insulin ↑, APOE 4 higher glucose vs. APOE 3	AD	Calderon-Garciduenas et al., 2016 [4]
PM2.5 > 10 µg/m3	Elderly over 65 y	Ambient exposure	Odds ratios (OR) Hospital admission	AD mortality ↑, non-AD ↑, PD ↑ OR for AD > non-AD or PD	AD Non-AD PD	Rhew et al., 2021 [35]
PM2.5 UFPM 8.1 μg/m3	Mean age 64.3 y ± 13.5 6655 patients 45.3% F 54.7% M	8.1 μg/m3 OM 35% SO4− 31% HNO3 0.9% BC 0.6 Soil 0.3% SS 0.2%	Hospital admissions	ALS 41.0% (motor complication, respiratory failure) RD 16.0% Non-ALS (infections, heart attack)	ALS aggravation outcome	Nunez et al., 2022 [36]
PM10	Female: Male Ratio 2.75 Age 30.7 ± 11.7 y	Ambient peak exposure Over 50 µg/m3	536 patients admitted for MS relapses Annualized relapse rate 0.57/y 0.47 men; 0.60 women	Positive association PM10 exposure and risk of MS relapse	Increased natural log of average 1 to 3 days before relapse OR = 1.40 in cold season	Roux et al., 2017 [38]
PM10, O3 CO, NO2 SO2	49,073 children under 3 y	Ambient exposure for 10 y	Children diagnosed with ASD	Positive association with O3 in 10 ppb increase; CO 100 ppb, NO2 10 ppb. No association with PM10	342 children newly diagnosed with ASD 83.2% male	Jung et al., 2013 [39]
PM10, PM2.5	Children born between 1990 and 2002	Maternal ambient exposure during pregnancy	Diagnosed with ASD	Association between PM2.5 exposure during third trimester and ASD 1.42; exposure during first and second trimesters and ASD was 1.06	245 Diagnosed with ASD	Raz et al., 2015 [40]
PM2.5 NO2	Children born between February 2004 and 2008	Maternal ambient exposure 1119 women	Cognition Verbal Numeric Motor	Memory deficit in boys associated with PM2.5 and NO2. Global cognition and verbal expression associated with NO2.	Sex-dependent effects at 4–6 years of age	Lertxundi et al., 2019 [43]
UFPM Nano BC 14 nm	BALB/c mice	Intranasal instillation olfactory bulbs 250 μg 100 µL	Neurotransmitter release Inflammatory markers	Glutamate and Glycine ↑ IL-1β and TNF-α ↑	AD PD	Tin Tin Win et al., 2008 [53]
PM2.5 O3 Southwest Mexico City	Children 96.3 ± 8.5 months of age 34 from highly polluted 17 from low pollution Autopsy material from 5 subjects	PM2.5 24.6 µg/m3 vs. 15 µg/m3 of USA National Ambient Air Quality Standard Maximum average 90 µg/m3 during the mid-morning	Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) Inflammatory markers AD markers Inflammatory markers	Delayed conduction time of brainstem neural transmission Vestibular impairment IL-1β, TNF-α, TGF-β1, MDC, MCP-1 ↑; IL-8 ↓, Medial superior olive neurons: α synuclein +, reactive microgliosis, βA1–42 +	Diverse Neuropatho logies	Calderón-Garcidueñas et al., 2011 [54]
Ambient PM2.5 UFPM0.1	C57BL/6 male mice	PM2.5 ≈ 70 µg/m3 UFPM0.1 ≈ 10,000–20,000/m3	PM detection Neuroinflammation AD hallmarks	PM particles in brain tissue + BBB disruption Enlargement of perivascular space Inflammatory cells attached to brain vascular endothelium Aβ plaque formation Reactive microgliosis	AD	Hameed et al., 2020 [55]
PM2.5 Taiyuan, China	C57BL/6 male mice	Oropharyngeal aspiration 1 and 5 mg/kg Every other day for 4 weeks Intracerebral injection with BACE1, shRNA or LV-miR-574-5p	Neuroinflammation Synaptic function Spatial learning memory	BACE1 overexpressed Aβ generated NFκB activation by nitrooxidative stress	AD	Ku et al., 2017 [56]
PM O3, SO2 NO2, CO Pb	139 children Mean age 11.91 ± 4.2 years	Ambient exposure MCMA	Systemic inflammation Neuroinflammation	MIF, IL-6, IL-1ra, IL-2, PrPC ↑	AD PD	Calderón-Garcidueñas, et al., 2013 [60]