Fig. 5From: Maternal exposure to ultrafine particles enhances influenza infection during pregnancySchematic depicting the sources of UFPs and the effects on influenza infection severity observed in our model. In urban environments, high number concentrations of UFPs are directly emitted into the atmosphere from traffic and industrial sources and/or produced from new particle formation relevant to photochemical oxidation, which is initiated by the hydroxyl radical (OH) or ozone (O3), involving volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the presence of nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) and ammonia (NH3)4,20–22. Our mouse model illustrates four major adverse health effects for aggravated respiratory infection from UFP exposure for pregnant women: (1) reduced weight gain, (2) reduced pulmonary immune responses, (3) elevated viral titer, and (4) enhanced pro-viral and pro-inflammatory gene expressionBack to article page