ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2011
Diesel exhaust activates and primes microglia: air pollution, neuroinflammation, and regulation of dopaminergic neurotoxicity.
Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 174 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
174 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 357 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ambient air pollution and clinical dementia: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2023Pooled it
- Exposure to air pollution and cognitive impairment risk: a meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies with dose-response analysis.Journal of global health · 2020Pooled it
- A systematic review of the health effects associated with the inhalation of particle-filtered and whole diesel exhaust.Inhalation toxicology · 2020Pooled it
- Outdoor Air Pollution and Brain Structure and Function From Across Childhood to Young Adulthood: A Methodological Review of Brain MRI Studies.Frontiers in public health · 2019Pooled it
- Influence of exposure to coarse, fine and ultrafine urban particulate matter and their biological constituents on neural biomarkers in a randomized controlled crossover study.Environment international · 2017Trial
- Effects of Recent Air Pollution Exposure on Children's Neurocognitive Functions and the Possible Link with Endothelial Function.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Article
- The lung-brain axis in neurodegeneration: inflammatory, immune, and vascular mechanisms with therapeutic implications.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Review
- Ambient air pollution during pregnancy and offspring cerebral palsy.Environment international · 2026Article
- Environmental toxins in neurodegeneration - a narrative review.Neurological research and practice · 2025Review
- Effects of air and light pollution on brain and behavioral function: Potential synergy.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2025Review
- Air Pollution and Stroke: An Emerging Challenge From Cardio-Cerebrovascular Multimorbidity.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Review
- The Effects of Air Pollution on Neurological Diseases: A Narrative Review on Causes and Mechanisms.Toxics · 2025Review
- Interaction Between Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Parkinson Disease Polygenic Risk Score.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- The Role of Air Pollution and Olfactory Dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenesis.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- AssessingFrontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Effects of particulate air pollution exposure on lung-brain axis and related miRNAs modulation in mouse models.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
- Ferroptosis in the Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta of Mice: Triggering Role of Ultrafine Diesel Exhaust Particles and Mitigation by α-Lipoic Acid.Neurochemical research · 2024Article
- Mechanistic insights regarding neuropsychiatric and neuropathologic impacts of air pollution.Critical reviews in toxicology · 2024Review
- Outdoor air pollution and brain development in childhood and adolescence.Trends in neurosciences · 2024Review
114 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAir pollution is linked to central nervous system disease, but the mechanisms responsible are poorly understood.
objectivesHere, we sought to address the brain-region-specific effects of diesel exhaust (DE) and key cellular mechanisms underlying DE-induced microglia activation, neuroinflammation, and dopaminergic (DA) neurotoxicity.
methodsRats were exposed to DE (2.0, 0.5, and 0 mg/m3) by inhalation over 4 weeks or as a single intratracheal administration of DE particles (DEP; 20 mg/kg). Primary neuron-glia cultures and the HAPI (highly aggressively proliferating immortalized) microglial cell line were used to explore cellular mechanisms.
resultsRats exposed to DE by inhalation demonstrated elevated levels of whole-brain IL-6 (interleukin-6) protein, nitrated proteins, and IBA-1 (ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1) protein (microglial marker), indicating generalized neuroinflammation. Analysis by brain region revealed that DE increased TNFα (tumor necrosis factor-α), IL-1β, IL-6, MIP-1α (macrophage inflammatory protein-1α) RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products), fractalkine, and the IBA-1 microglial marker in most regions tested, with the midbrain showing the greatest DE response. Intratracheal administration of DEP increased microglial IBA-1 staining in the substantia nigra and elevated both serum and whole-brain TNFα at 6 hr posttreatment. Although DEP alone failed to cause the production of cytokines and chemokines, DEP (5 μg/mL) pretreatment followed by lipopolysaccharide (2.5 ng/mL) in vitro synergistically amplified nitric oxide production, TNFα release, and DA neurotoxicity. Pretreatment with fractalkine (50 pg/mL) in vitro ameliorated DEP (50 μg/mL)-induced microglial hydrogen peroxide production and DA neurotoxicity.
conclusionsTogether, these findings reveal complex, interacting mechanisms responsible for how air pollution may cause neuroinflammation and DA neurotoxicity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.