Research Alert
A recent study led by UCI researchers found that a type of air pollution known as fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, can cause loss of ovarian function in female mice.
Human activity is the biggest driver of PM2.5 air pollution and typically comes from human activity, namely the burning of fossil fuels in vehicle exhaust, heating oil, and coal. Up until this point, research on the effects of PM2.5 exposure on the female reproductive system, ovarian function in particular, has been limited.
Findings were published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology.
The study, co-led by Ulrike Luderer, MD, PhD, corresponding author and a professor of environmental and occupational health at the UCI Program in Public Health and Director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH), and Michael T. Kleinman, PhD, adjunct professor of environmental and occupational health and co-director of the Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory, aimed to fill gaps in the literature on the subject and bring visibility to this topic.
Luderer and team found that PM2.5 exposure in mice disrupts ovarian follicle growth, a cellular process that is essential to the development of the female reproductive system. Developed in utero, ovarian follicles are small fluid-filled sacs that contain immature eggs (oocytes), which are released for potential fertilization as part of the female menstrual cycle. Premature loss of ovarian function and damage to the ovarian follicles is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis in women. Consistent with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, the team also found that exposure to PM2.5 and removal of the ovaries increased atherosclerosis in the female mice.
Co-authors also include UCI Environmental Health Sciences doctoral students Barrett Allen, Kelli Mallot, Bishop Bliss, Rebecca Arechavala, and David Herman.
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