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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1529215
PM2.5 affected ciliary beat frequency of axonemes via the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A pathway
Provisionally accepted- Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Long-term inhalation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been linked to the onset of various lung diseases. The mucociliary clearance system, acts as the primary host defense mechanism in the airways, with ciliary beat frequency (CBF) being a key parameter for assessing its functionality. The primary aim of this study was to demonstrate the impact of PM2.5 on CBF and to investigate the potential mechanisms by which PM2.5 induced changes in CBF through airway axonemes. Airway axonemes were extracted from bovine ciliated epithelium and treated with different concentrations of PM2.5 in vitro for 10 min and 1 h to simulate short-term and prolonged exposures. Additionally, the pathway was examined using PKA activator (cAMP) and PKA inhibitor (PKI) on ciliary axonemes. The results revealed that PM2.5 stimulated CBF in airway axonemes via the cAMP-PKA pathway. Low concentrations and short-term exposure to PM2.5 stimulate CBF elevation, however, high concentration and prolonged exposure to PM2.5 might damage respiratory cilia, thereby increasing the risk of respiratory diseases.
Keywords: PM2.5, ciliary beat frequency, cAMP, PKA, airway axonemes
Received: 19 Nov 2024; Accepted: 10 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pang, Xiong, Zhang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yang Li, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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