An increasing number of recent studies have focused on the impact of
particulate matter on human health. As a model for atmospheric particulate inhalation, we investigated the effects of inhaled
carbon black nanoparticles (CBNP) on mice with
bleomycin-induced
pulmonary fibrosis. The CNBPs were generated by a novel aerosolization process, and the mice were exposed to the
aerosol for 4 hours. We found that CBNP inhalation exacerbated
lung inflammation, as evidenced by histopathology analysis and by the expression levels of
interleukin-6 protein,
fibronectin, and
interferon-γ mRNAs in lung tissues. Notably,
fibronectin mRNA expression showed a statistically significant increase in expression after CBNP exposure. These data suggest that the concentration of CBNPs delivered (calculated to be 12.5 μg/m(3)) can aggravate
lung inflammation in mice. Our results also suggest that the inhalation of
ultrafine particles like PM 2.5 is an impactful environmental risk factor for humans, particularly in susceptible populations with predisposing lung conditions.