Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34033466›Full record

ArticleChemical research in toxicology2021

Toxicity of Water- and Organic-Soluble Wood Tar Fractions from Biomass Burning in Lung Epithelial Cells.

Michal Pardo, Chunlin Li, Zheng Fang, Smadar Levin-Zaidman, Nili Dezorella, Hendryk Czech, Patrick Martens, Uwe Käfer, Thomas Gröger, Christopher P Rüger and 3 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Chemical research in toxicology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
4.4field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. DifferentialACS ES&T air · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. The Effects of Wildfire Smoke on Asthma and Allergy.Current allergy and asthma reports · 2023
    Review
  7. Review
  8. Cytotoxicity and chemical composition of women's personal PMEnvironmental science: atmospheres · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Michal PardoDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.ORCID 0000-0001-6480-1171
Chunlin LiDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.ORCID 0000-0001-9756-5638
Zheng FangDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Smadar Levin-ZaidmanElectron Microscopy Unit, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Nili DezorellaElectron Microscopy Unit, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Hendryk CzechJoint Mass Spectrometry Centre, Comprehensive Molecular Analytics (CMA), Cooperation Group Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health GmbH, Gmunder Str. 37, 81379 München, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8377-4252
Patrick MartensJoint Mass Spectrometry Centre, Institute of Chemistry, University of Rostock, Dr.-Lorenz-Weg 2, 18059 Rostock, Germany.
Uwe KäferJoint Mass Spectrometry Centre, Institute of Chemistry, University of Rostock, Dr.-Lorenz-Weg 2, 18059 Rostock, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4016-0661
Thomas GrögerJoint Mass Spectrometry Centre, Comprehensive Molecular Analytics (CMA), Cooperation Group Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health GmbH, Gmunder Str. 37, 81379 München, Germany.
Christopher P RügerJoint Mass Spectrometry Centre, Institute of Chemistry, University of Rostock, Dr.-Lorenz-Weg 2, 18059 Rostock, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9634-9239
Lukas FriedericiJoint Mass Spectrometry Centre, Institute of Chemistry, University of Rostock, Dr.-Lorenz-Weg 2, 18059 Rostock, Germany.
Ralf ZimmermannJoint Mass Spectrometry Centre, Comprehensive Molecular Analytics (CMA), Cooperation Group Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health GmbH, Gmunder Str. 37, 81379 München, Germany.
Yinon RudichDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.ORCID 0000-0003-3149-0201
Weizmann Institute of Science · ILUniversity of Rostock · DEHelmholtz Zentrum München · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Widespread smoke from wildfires and biomass burning contributes to air pollution and the deterioration of air quality and human health. A common and major emission of biomass burning, often found in collected smoke particles, is spherical wood tar particles, also known as "tar balls". However, the toxicity of wood tar particles and the mechanisms that govern their health impacts and the impact of their complicated chemical matrix are not fully elucidated. To address these questions, we generated wood tar material from wood pyrolysis and isolated two main subfractions: water-soluble and organic-soluble fractions. The chemical characteristics as well as the cytotoxicity, oxidative damage, and DNA damage mechanisms were investigated after exposure of A549 and BEAS-2B lung epithelial cells to wood tar. Our results suggest that both wood tar subfractions reduce cell viability in exposed lung cells; however, these fractions have different modes of action that are related to their physicochemical properties. Exposure to the water-soluble wood tar fraction increased total reactive oxygen species production in the cells, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and induced oxidative damage and cell death, probably through apoptosis. Exposure to the organic-soluble fraction increased superoxide anion production, with a sharp decrease in MMP. DNA damage is a significant process that may explain the course of toxicity of the organic-soluble fraction. For both subfractions, exposure caused cell cycle alterations in the G2/M phase that were induced by upregulation of p21 and p16. Collectively, both subfractions of wood tar are toxic. The water-soluble fraction contains chemicals (such as phenolic compounds) that induce a strong oxidative stress response and penetrate living cells more easily. The organic-soluble fraction contained more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and oxygenated PAHs and induced genotoxic processes, such as DNA damage.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic Agents, PhytogenicBiomassCell DeathCell ProliferationCell SurvivalDrug Screening Assays, AntitumorEpithelial CellsHumansLungMolecular StructurePlant ExtractsSolubilityTarsTumor Cells, CulturedWaterWoodAntineoplastic Agents, PhytogenicPlant ExtractsTarsWater

Identifiers

PMID34033466
PMCPMC8277191
OpenAlexW3165509329

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.