Skip to main content
Fig. 5 | Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Fig. 5

From: Maternal exposure to ultrafine particles enhances influenza infection during pregnancy

Fig. 5

Schematic 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 expression

Back to article page