Diesel and biodiesel exhaust particle effects on rat alveolar macrophages with in vitro exposure.

Combustion emissions from diesel engines emit particulate matter which deposits within the lungs. Alveolar macrophages (AMs) encounter the particles and attempt to engulf the particles. Emissions particles from diesel combustion engines have been found to contain diverse biologically active components including metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons which cause adverse health effects. However little is known about AM response to particles from the incorporation of biodiesel. The objective of this study was to examine the toxicity in Wistar Kyoto rat AM of biodiesel blend (B20) and low sulfur petroleum diesel (PDEP) exhaust particles. Particles were independently suspended in media at a range of 1-500µgmL(-1). Results indicated B20 and PDEP initiated a dose dependent increase of inflammatory signals from AM after exposure. After 24h exposure to B20 and PDEP gene expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2) increased. B20 exposure resulted in elevated prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release at lower particle concentrations compared to PDEP. B20 and PDEP demonstrated similar affinity for sequestration of PGE2 at high concentrations, suggesting detection is not impaired. Our data suggests PGE2 release from AM is dependent on the chemical composition of the particles. Particle analysis including measurements of metals and ions indicate B20 contains more of select metals than PDEP. Other particle components generally reduced by 20% with 20% incorporation of biodiesel into original diesel. This study shows AM exposure to B20 results in increased production of PGE2in vitro relative to diesel.

Characterization of a bacterial community from a Northeast Siberian seacoast permafrost sample.

A combination of culture-dependent and -independent techniques was used to characterize a bacterial community, examine cold adaptation of isocitrate lyase (icl) genes, and detect genes with important ecological functions in a permafrost sample from the Bykovsky Peninsula on the Laptev Sea coast of northeast Siberia. According to the 16S rRNA gene sequence, 47 of the cultured isolates were members of the phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria, with 85% of the isolates belonging to the genera Arthrobacter and Planococcus. The 16S rRNA gene clone library derived from DNA from the same permafrost sample contained sequences from the same phyla plus a few from Acidobacteria, but favored the Firmicutes at the cost of the Actinobacteria. A partial sequence of the icl gene, a proposed marker for cold adaptation, was determined for 25 isolates that grew at 0 °C. Two Psychrobacter isolates contained two of the four residues shown to be important for low-temperature activity in Colwellia maris or Colwellia psychrerythreaea. The presence in the permafrost DNA of genes with ecosystem functions was determined using geochip 2.0. The highest number of genes identified was from the categories of aromatic and natural polymer degradation genes, perhaps reflecting selection for the use of tundra vegetation-produced carbon.