ArticleAdvanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)2021
An Air Particulate Pollutant Induces Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration in Human Brain Models.
Article in Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
95 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 180 citations in OpenAlex.
- Airborne pollutants and risk of neurodegenerative diseases: a global systematic review and meta-analysis.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review of air pollution exposure and brain structure and function during development.Environmental research · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review with a Burden of Proof meta-analysis of health effects of long-term ambient fine particulate matter (PMNature aging · 2025Pooled it
- Association between air pollution exposure and brain cortical thickness throughout the lifespan: A systematic review.Neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Air pollution, depressive and anxiety disorders, and brain effects: A systematic review.Neurotoxicology · 2022Pooled it
- Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter and the Risk of Chronic Liver Diseases: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Black carbon as a major contributor to ambient PMEco-Environment & Health · 2026Article
- Outdoor Air Pollution, Perivascular Space Morphology, and Cognition in Preadolescence.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Article
- IL-17 Signaling Pathway: A Potential Signaling Pathway Mediating Neuroinflammation Induced by PMEnvironment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- Association between annual air pollutant exposure and thyroid function: a retrospective cross-sectional study.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2026Article
- Review
- Impacts of contemporaneous air pollution exposure on cognitive performance in Kenya.Journal of health economics · 2026Article
- PMiScience · 2026Review
- A comprehensive study on the association of personal air pollution exposure with thyroid hormones in pregnant women.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2026Article
- Association Between PMEuropean journal of neurology · 2026Article
- miR‑223‑3p promotes microglial lactylation and M1 polarization via the FBXW7/Notch1/Hes1/SIRT1 axis.International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Ambient pollution components and sources are associated with hippocampal architecture and memory in pre-adolescents.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Systemic Inflammation Triggers Motor Axon Degeneration Via Macrophage IL-1β-Mediated P53/SIRT1/Autophagy Pathway.Inflammation · 2026Article
- Prenatal exposure to particulate matter impairs offspring behavior via hippocampal NMDA receptor reduction: an in vivo and ex vivo study.Environment international · 2026Article
- Associations between air pollution and markers of neuroinflammation, synaptic dysfunction and core Alzheimer's disease pathology vary by APOE genotype.Neurotoxicity research · 2026Article
35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a major component among air pollutants, highlights as a global health concern. Several epidemiological studies show the correlation between chronical PM2.5 exposure and incidents of neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease. However, the mechanisms have not been well understood, partly due to the lack of model systems that reflect the physiologically relevant innate immunity in human brains. Here, PM2.5-polluted human brain models (PMBs) are created in a 3D microfluidic platform reconstituting key aspects of human brain immunity under the PM2.5 exposure. PM2.5 penetration across a blood-brain barrier (BBB) model and accumulation in the brain tissue side of the model are first validated. Second, the PMB model shows that the BBB-penetrating PM2.5 initiates astrogliosis, resulting in slight neuronal loss and microglial infiltration. Third, it is demonstrated that the infiltrating microglia obtain M1 phenotype induced by interleukin-1β and interferon-γ from neurons and reactive astrocytes under the PM2.5 exposure. Finally, it is observed that additional proinflammatory mediators and nitric oxide released from the M1 microglia exacerbate neuronal damages, such as synaptic impairment, phosphoric tau accumulation, and neuronal death. This study suggests that PM2.5 can be a potential environmental risk factor for dementia mediated by the detrimental neuroinflammation.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.