Effects of diesel exhaust particulate (DEP) on genital organs and cardiovascular system

空气污染在世界各大城市已成为一个非常严重的问题。柴油废气（DE）是众所周知的一种重要的大气污染物，它含有柴油废气颗粒（DEP）和柴油废气。因此，本研究旨在阐明DEP对生殖器官和心血管系统的影响。静脉注射DEP引起的心律失常（即房室传导阻滞，过早收缩）。DEP引起低血压，阿托品预处理阻断了DEP诱导的血压下降，提示副交感神经系统参与了DEP诱导的反应。此外，DEP对心肌细胞的体外毒性作用可能主要与OH、H_2O_2和O_2等活性氧有关。根据这些结果和其他报道，本研究以及进一步的体外心肌细胞DEP研究将对阐明空气颗粒与体内心血管疾病之间的复杂关系具有重要作用。此外，DEP引起小鼠异常的分娩和生殖行为，导致妊娠小鼠异常分娩，并改变子宫肌收缩力对催产素的反应。然而，需要更详细的研究来阐明depp对生殖器官和心血管系统的影响。

Air pollution has become a very serious problem in the big cities of the world. Diesel exhaust (DE), which contains diesel exhaust particles (DEP) and diesel exhaust gases, is well known as an important air pollutant. Therefore, this study was investigated to clarify the effects of DEP on genital organs and cardiovascular system. Intravenously administered DEP induced arrhythmia (i.e. atrioventricular block, premature contraction). DEP caused low blood pressure and pretreatment with atropine blocked the DEP-induced fall in blood pressure, suggesting involvement of the parasympathetic nervous system in the DEP-induced responses. Moreover, DEP induced cytotoxicity toward cardiac myocytes in vitro might mainly due to reactive oxygen species such as OH, H_2O_2 and O_2. According to these results and other reports, this study and further researches about DEP using cardiac myocytes in vitro would play an important role in elucidating the complicated relations between air particles and cardiovascular diseases in vivo. Furthermore, DEP caused abnormal delivery and reproductive behavior in mice and led to abnormal parturition in pregnant nice and altered myometrial contractility in response to oxytocin. However, a more detail investigation will be needed to clarify the DEP-induced effects on genital organs and cardiovascular system.