Ultrastructural Changes in Cultured Rat Alveolar Macrophage Cells Induced by Fine Particulate Matter

Numerous studies have reported the association between fine particle matter (PM) and lung diseases. Alveolar macrophages (AM) are the key lung cells with strong capability of eliminating external particle pollutant. Therefore the prevention of AM from apoptosis induced by fine PM is vital for clinical treatment of increased pulmonary diseases. This study aims to investigate the ultrastructural changes in cultured AM induced by fine PM, which can directly reflect the effect of fine PM on AM apoptosis. In addition, Standard Reference Material for fine PM (SRM 2786) was used in current study due to its relative uniform composition. The results in this study suggested that SRM 2786 induced morphology changes in AM in a dose-dependent manner by transmission electron microscope observation, including nuclear fragmentation, chromatin aggregation, increased numbers of lysosomes and so forth. Consequently, this study provides reliable evidence for us to further investigate the apoptotic mechanism of AM induced by fine PM treatment in the future.