. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Sep 1.

Published in final edited form as: Trends Neurosci. 2009 Aug 26;32(9):506–516. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2009.05.009

Table 1.

Research Overview: Effects of Air Pollution on the Brain

Air Pollution Model	Experimental Model	Neuroinflammation & Pro-inflammatory Markers	Neuropathology & Behavior Changes	References
Particulate Matter	Mouse	N/T	DA Neuron Damage in the Substantia Nigra	41
	Mouse	IL1-β, TNFα, and INFγ increase in Olfactory Bulb	Change in Neurotransmitters	63
	Mouse	Cytokine Production, JNK Activation, Enhanced NFκβ Expression	N/T	29, 30
	Mouse	N/T	Changes in Neurotransmitters	31
	Rat	N/T	Lipid Peroxidation, Decrease in Exploratory Behavior	32
	Cell Culture	Microglial Activation Superoxide Production	DA Neuron Damage	90
	Cell Culture	Microglial Activation TNFα & IL-6 Production	N/T	91
	Brain Capillary Culture	TNFα & ROS Production c-Jun Phosphorylation	P-GP & MRP2 Increase Tight Junction Protein Decrease	101

Ozone	Rat	N/T	Lipid Peroxidation DA Neuron Damage & Death in Substantia Nigra, Motor Deficits	75–77
	Rat	N/T	Lipid Peroxidation & Impaired Memory	74, 78
	Rat	Astrocyte IL-6 & TNFα Increase at BBB	Increase in Brainstem VEGF Expression (Adaptive Repair Response)	80
	Prenatal Rat	N/T	DA, NA, DOPAC and HVA Decrease	79
	Cell Culture	N/T	Astrocyte Death	87

Nanoparticles	Cell Culture	Microglial Activation Superoxide Production	DA Neuron Damage	66, 102
	Cell Culture	N/T	HBMEC Toxicity, Lower Tight Junction Expression	100
	Mouse	N/T	Oxidative Stress (Brain) Lipid Peroxidation	103–105

Chronic Ambient Air Pollution	Human	COX₂, IL1-β, iNOS, & CD14 Increase	White Matter Lesions, Diffuse Aβ Plaques, α Synuclein Aggregation, BBB Damage, Cognitive Deficits, & DNA Damage	10, 14, 27, 28, 52, 100
	Dog	iNOS, NFκβ, & CD14 Increase	White Matter Lesions Diffuse Aβ Plaques α Synuclein Aggregation, BBB Damage, & DNA Damage	11, 12, 28

N/T, Not Tested; DA, Dopamine; IL-1β, Interleukin 1β; TNFα, Tumor Necrosis Factor α; INFγ, Interferon γ; JNK, c-Jun N terminal Kinase; NFκβ, Nuclear Factor κβ, IL-6, Interleukin 6; ROS. Reactive Oxygen Species; PGP, P-Glycoprotein; MRP2 Multidrug Resistance Associated Protein-2; BBB, Blood Brain Barrier; VEGF, Vascular endothelial growth factor; NA, norepinephrine; DOPAC, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid; HVA, homovanillic acid; HBMEC, Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells; COX_2, cycloxygenase 2.