Background
inflammation
ASTHMATIC, INFLAMMATION, ASTHMATICS, OXIDATIVE STRESS, GENOTOXICITY
Indoor air quality is not well-regulated nor well-understood with respect to health effects. This knowledge gap is critical, as people spend up to 90% of their time indoors, and most of that time is spent in their home [Several studies have linked regular and prolonged exposure of indoor PM to adverse health especially in children, the elderly and asthmatics [Lower airway responses to PM can be assessed by evaluating early biomarkers, including Surfactant Protein-A (SP-A) and albumin found in the lining fluid of small airways [Albumin, the most prominent blood protein, is the primary determinant for colloid osmotic pressure in the vascular space and possibly also in lining fluid of the small airways, but it is also suggested as a marker of membrane permeability [Altered levels of serum metabolites, e.g. glycoprotein N-acetylation (GlycA) and cholesterol, may be associated with inflammation related to PM exposure [In the present study, the aim was to examine whether short-term respiratory and systemic effects of indoor exposure to cooking and candle emissions could be observed in a population of young asthmatic volunteers. Information on effects were collected in terms of SP-A and albumin in droplets in exhaled air, cytokines in nasal lavage, and cytokines, C-reactive protein (CRP), Epithelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs), genotoxicity, gene expression related to DNA-repair, oxidative stress, and inflammation, as well as metabolomics in blood. The hypothesis tested was that short-term exposure to cooking and candle emissions could induce acute responses in airways and blood. The PM properties are discussed in terms of estimated mass distributions and their hygroscopic properties are presented. For the convenience of the reader some description of exposure characteristics already described in [