Superfund Research Program
November 2024
SRP-funded researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) found that heavy metal exposure disrupts a network of lipids in lung and airway cells called sphingolipids. Nestled in the cellular membrane, sphingolipids are one of the most abundant and complex types of lipids found across the human body, playing a role in cell growth, stress response, signaling, and survival.
“Although previous studies have linked sphingolipid dysregulation with asthma and other respiratory diseases, the effects of high-dose heavy metal exposure on the lungs needs further exploration,” said Mohammad Athar, professor of dermatology at UAB.
In the lab, the scientists exposed both human lung cells and human lung tissue to arsenic, manganese, and cadmium, which are heavy metals found in fine particulate matter in polluted air. As the cells and tissue were treated with increasing levels of the metals, cell viability waned and sphingolipid metabolic pathways were increasingly altered.
When looking at human lung tissue exposed to heavy metals, the scientists noted that the exact method of sphingolipid disruption was distinct, which the team attributed to different heavy metals having specific mechanisms for dysregulation.
The study confirms that environmental exposure to fine particulate matter is a major risk factor for the development of lung diseases, including asthma, according to Athar.
“These observations have important implications for asthma,” he said. “Injury to lung cells from environmental exposures and consequent dysregulation of sphingolipid metabolism may exacerbate inflammatory responses and impair lung function.”
To learn more, please refer to the following sources:- Ahmad S, Single SL, Liu Y, Hough KP, Wang Y, Thannickal V, Athar M, Goliwas KF, Deshane J. 2024. Heavy metal exposure-mediated dysregulation of sphingolipid metabolism. Antioxidants (Basel) 13(8):PMID:39199224