Abstract
Although several studies have reported that diesel exhaust particles (DEP) affect cardiorespiratory health in animals and humans, the responsible components in DEP for the effects remain to be deο¬ned. Diesel exhaust particles contain quinones that can catalyse the generation of reactive oxygen species, resulting in the induction of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can correlate with a variety of diseases and health effects. In the present study, we investigated the effects of phenanthraquinone β a relatively abundant quinone in DEP β on lung inο¬ammation and the local expression of cytokine proteins in mice as a measure of oxidative damage. The animals were randomized into two experimental groups that received vehicle or phenanthraquinone by intratracheal instillation. The cellular proο¬les of bronchoalveolar lavage ο¬uid (BALF) and local expression of cytokines were evaluated 24 and 48 h after the instillation. Phenanthraquinone challenge revealed an increase in the numbers of neutrophils and eosinophils in BALF as compared to vehicle challenge (P < 0.05 at 48 h postβinstillation). Phenanthraquinone induced the lung expression of interleukin (IL)β5 and eotaxin 48 h and 24 h after the challenge, respectively. These results indicate that intratracheal exposure to phenanthraquinone induces recruitment of inο¬ammatory cells, at least partly, through the local expression of ILβ5 and eotaxin. Copyright Β© 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.