Chrysene, one of the basic
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), has been reported to make damages to human health and living environment.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (
COPD) is a progressive disorder with high morbidity and mortality. To investigate the role of
chrysene in the development of
COPD, male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to the cigarette
smoke (CS) followed with the administration of
chrysene. Morphological analyses indicated that
chrysene caused earlier and severer pathological changes in CS-exposed mice. Besides, CS-exposed mice with
chrysene treatment showed obvious
collagen deposition, elevated α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression and reduced
E-cadherin abundance at earlier stage, which suggested the acceleration and aggravation of
pulmonary fibrosis. Moreover, quantification of leukocytes and pro-inflammatory
cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissues implied that
chrysene significantly exacerbated the proceeding of
inflammation in CS-exposed mice. Furthermore, significantly increased apoptotic rates, augmented expressions of apoptotic related
proteins and highly expressed TRPV1 were determined in CS-exposed mice with
chrysene treatment, which indicated the association between
COPD pathogenesis and TRPV1 channel. In summary, our findings elucidate that
chrysene accelerates the development of
COPD in a murine model with new molecular mechanisms.