Ozone affects pollen viability and NAD(P)H oxidase release from Ambrosia artemisiifolia pollen

Autor: Luisa Ederli, Giuseppe Frenguelli, Nicole Wopfner, Emma Tedeschini, Gennaro D'Amato, Fatima Ferreira, Stefania Pasqualini
Rok vydání: 2011
Předmět:
Zdroj: Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
ISSN: 0269-7491
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.05.003
Popis: Air pollution is frequently proposed as a cause of the increased incidence of allergy in industrialised countries. We investigated the impact of ozone (O3) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and allergen content of ragweed pollen (Ambrosia artemisiifolia). Pollen was exposed to acute O3 fumigation, with analysis of pollen viability, ROS and nitric oxide (NO) content, activity of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD[P]H) oxidase, and expression of major allergens. There was decreased pollen viability after O3 fumigation, which indicates damage to the pollen membrane system, although the ROS and NO contents were not changed or were only slightly induced, respectively. Ozone exposure induced a significant enhancement of the ROS-generating enzyme NAD(P)H oxidase. The expression of the allergen Amb a 1 was not affected by O3, determined from the mRNA levels of the major allergens. We conclude that O3 can increase ragweed pollen allergenicity through stimulation of ROS-generating NAD(P)H oxidase.
Highlights ► O3 reduces the viability of ragweed pollen. ► ROS and allergens of ragweed pollen were not affected by O3 exposure. ► O3 enhances the activity of the ROS-generating enzyme NAD(P)H oxidase. ► O3 increases ragweed pollen allergenicity through NAD(P)H-oxidase stimulation.
This study focuses on the effects of the atmospheric pollutant ozone on ROS content and NAD(P)H oxidase activity of ragweed pollen grains.
Databáze: OpenAIRE