In Vitro Exposure of Acer negundo Pollen to Atmospheric Levels of SO2 and NO2: Effects on Allergenicity and Germination

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2012

Authors

Raquel Sousa (Author) Other; Laura Duque (Author) Other; Abel J Duarte (Author) Other; Carlos R Gomes (Author) FCUP; Helena Ribeiro (Author) FCUP; Ana Cruz (Author) Other; Joaquim Esteves G E da Silva (Author) FCUP; Ilda Abreu (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Environmental Science & Technology

Vol. 46

Pages: 2406-2412

ISSN: 0013-936X

Publisher: American Chemical Society

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 46 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 49 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Engineering and technology > Environmental engineering

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-CZ8

DOI: 10.1021/es2034685

Abstract (EN): In the last years, a rising trend of pollen allergies in urban areas has been attributed to atmospheric pollution. In this work, we investigated the effects of SO2 and NO2 on the protein content, allergenicity, and germination rate of Acer negundo pollen. A novel environmental chamber was assembled to exposure pollen samples with SO2 or NO2 at two different levels: just below and two times the atmospheric hour-limit value acceptable for human health protection in Europe. Results showed that protein content was lower in SO2-exposed pollen samples and slightly higher in NO2-exposed pollen compared to the control sample. No different polypeptide profiles were revealed by SDS-PAGE between exposed and nonexposed pollen, but the immunodetection assays indicated higher IgE recognition by all sera of sensitized patients to Acer negundo pollen extracts in all exposed samples in comparison to the nonexposed samples. A decrease in the germination rate of exposed in contrast to nonexposed pollen was verified, which was more pronounced for NO2-exposed samples. Our results indicated that in urban areas, concentrations of SO2 and NO2 below the limits established for human protection can indirectly aggravate pollen allergy on predisposed individuals and affect plant reproduction.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7