Research Article Linking Endotoxins, African Dust PM10 and Asthma in an Urban and Rural Environment of Puerto Rico

Copyright © 2015 Mario G. Ortiz-Mart́ınez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. African Dust Events (ADE) are a seasonal phenomenon that has been suggested to exacerbate respiratory and proinflammatory diseases in Puerto Rico (PR). Increases in PM 10 concentration and the effects of biological endotoxins (ENX) are critical factors to consider during these storms. ENXpromote proinflammatory responses in lungs of susceptible individuals through activation of the Toll-like receptors (TLR2/4) signaling pathways. The objective of the study was to evaluate the toxicological and proinflammatory responses stimulated by ADE PM 10 ENX reaching PR using human bronchial epithelial cells. PM 10 organic extracts from a rural and urban site in PR (March 2004) were obtained from ADE and non-ADE and compared. A retrospective data analysis (P