Effects of Different Concentrations of Oil Mist Particulate Matter on Pulmonary Fibrosis In Vivo and In Vitro

HIGHLIGHTS: What are the main findings? OMPM exposure induced lung lesions and PF in rats. What is the implication of the main finding? OMPM exposure induced PF via TGF-β1/Smad3 and TGF-β1/p38 MAPK signaling pathways. OMPM exposure induced fibrotic phenotypes in the BEAS-2B cell line. OMPM exposure activated the differentiation of the HFL-1 cell line. OMPM exposure led to the BEAS-2B cell line being able to induce the differentiation of the HFL-1 cell line. ABSTRACT: Oil-mist particulate matter (OMPM) refers to oily particles with a small aerodynamic equivalent diameter in ambient air. Since the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) has not been fully elucidated, this study aims to explore the potential molecular mechanisms of the adverse effects of exposure to OMPM at different concentrations in vivo and in vitro on PF. In this study, rats and cell lines were treated with different concentrations of OMPM in vivo and in vitro. Sirius Red staining analysis shows that OMPM exposure could cause pulmonary lesions and fibrosis symptoms. The expression of TGF-β1, α-SMA, and collagen I was increased in the lung tissue of rats. The activities of MMP2 and TIMP1 were unbalanced, and increased N-Cadherin and decreased E-Cadherin upon OMPM exposure in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, OMPM exposure could activate the TGF-β1/Smad3 and TGF-β1/MAPK p38 signaling pathways, and the differentiation of human lung fibroblast HFL-1 cells. Therefore, OMPM exposure could induce PF by targeting the lung epithelium and fibroblasts, and activating the TGF-β1/Smad3 and TGF-β1/MAPK p38 signaling pathways.