Chronic developmental exposure to traffic-derived PM₂·₅ has limited skeletal effects in mice
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Epidemiological studies link traffic proximity to increased osteoporosis and fracture risk in older adults, but mechanistic relationships remain unclear. Following our recently published hypothesis regarding metal-induced bone fragility, we performed an exploratory study to investigate whether chronic exposures to metals in traffic-derived PM2.5 during development compromise bone health in young adult mice. This opportunistic investigation utilised stored biological material from a concurrent sub-chronic exposure study. BALBc mice were divided into PM2.5 exposed and control groups over 12 weeks. Starting at 6 weeks of age PM2.5 exposed mice received daily intranasal administration of 10 µg/mL filtered particulates collected from Sydney roadside air while controls received saline. Metal accumulation was quantified using ICP-MS and bone structural properties were assessed via micro-CT. Mechanical properties were evaluated through three-point bending tests at 4 and 8 and 12 weeks of exposure. No significant differences were observed between groups across any parameter. Both groups exhibited comparable concentrations of endogenous and exogenous metals at all examined time points. Bone geometric properties and mechanical characteristics including yield stress and ultimate tensile strength and stiffness were similar between groups with normal age-related development in both. These findings suggest that metal accumulation in bone is not significant in early life and is not associated with a deterioration of mechanical properties under the specific conditions of this exploratory model. It is more likely that any adverse effects require a cumulative lifetime burden and age-related decline in protective mechanisms rather than immediate developmental vulnerability. This shifts the focus from early-life susceptibility to long-term risk and establishes a methodological pipeline for future longitudinal research.
Date Issued
2026-08-07
Date Acceptance
2026-05-18
Citation
Scientific Reports, 2026, 16
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Portfolio
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
16
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
10.1038/s41598-026-54342-1
Subjects
PM 2.5
Osteoporosis
Metals
Bone
Traffic Pollution
Development
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
24401
Date Publish Online
2026-05-28