Multiomic signatures of traffic related air pollution in London reveal potential short-term perturbations in gut microbiome-related pathways
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
This randomized crossover study investigated the metabolic and mRNA alterations associated with exposure to high and low traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) in 50 participants who were either healthy or were diagnosed with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) or ischemic heart disease (IHD). For the first time, this study combined transcriptomics and serum metabolomics measured in the same participants over multiple time points (2 h before, and 2 and 24 h after exposure) and over two contrasted exposure regimes to identify potential multiomic modifications linked to TRAP exposure. With a multivariate normal model, we identified 78 metabolic features and 53 mRNA features associated with at least one TRAP exposure. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emerged as the dominant pollutant, with 67 unique associated metabolomic features. Pathway analysis and annotation of metabolic features consistently indicated perturbations in the tryptophan metabolism associated with NO2 exposure, particularly in the gut-microbiome-associated indole pathway. Conditional multiomics networks revealed complex and intricate mechanisms associated with TRAP exposure, with some effects persisting 24 h after exposure. Our findings indicate that exposure to TRAP can alter important physiological mechanisms even after a short-term exposure of a 2 h walk. We describe for the first time a potential link between NO2 exposure and perturbation of the microbiome-related pathways.
Date Issued
2024-05-21
Online Publication Date
2024-05-23T10:27:34Z
Date Acceptance
2024-04-26
ISSN
0013-936X
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
8771
End Page
8782
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)
Volume
58
Issue
20
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This publication is licensed under
CC-BY 4.0.
CC-BY 4.0.
License URI
Identifier
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c09148
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2024-05-10