Exercise Influence On Mouse Lung Function During Diesel Engine Exhaust Exposure

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the combined impact of short-term endurance training (ET) and diesel engine exhaust (DEE) on pulmonary function in male mice. METHODS: 32 male C57BL/6 mice (4-5 weeks old) were categorized into four groups: sedentary (S), endurance training (ET), sedentary + DEE exposure (S + DEE), and ET plus DEE exposure (ET + DEE). The ET animals underwent moderate-intensity treadmill exercise either in filtered air or during DEE exposure, while the S animals remained stationary on a treadmill under similar conditions (60 min/d, 7 days). The EMKA Animal Pulmonary Function Testing System (EMKA-WBP-RT4) collected lung function data from conscious mice immediately following the conclusion of the last exposure experiment. Parameters include tide volume (TV), frequency of breathing (F), minute volume (MV), peak inspiratory flow (PIF), peak expiratory flow (PEF), inspiratory time (Ti), expiratory time (Te), mid-expiratory flow (EF50), pause (PAU), enhanced pause (Penh), end-inspiratory pause (EIP), end-expiratory pause (EEP). Statistical analysis employed one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: In comparison to the S group, the parameters of the ET group showed no significant changes. Conversely, the S + DEE group demonstrated a significant declined in F, MV, PIF, and PEF, accompanied by an increased in Ti and Te. Noteworthy, the ET + DEE group demonstrated a significant elevation in F and a reduction in both Ti and Te compared to S + DEE. CONCLUSION: Short-term exposure to DEE appears to have an adverse impact on lung function in mice. Importantly, exercise emerges as a potential mitigator, providing partial protection against the decline in lung function induced by environmental air pollution.Fig. 1.: Effect of ET and DEE exposure on pulmonary function parameters. Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) between groups if not sharing letters.