Inhaled diesel exhaust particles result in microbiome-related systemic inflammation and altered cardiovascular disease biomarkers in C57Bl/6 male mice.

Exposure to particulate matter (PM) is a known mediator of inflammation and CVD and is reported to promote dysbiosis and decreased intestinal integrity. However, the role of inhaled traffic-generated PM on the gut microbiome and its corresponding systemic effects are not well-characterized.

Thus, we investigated the hypothesis that exposure to inhaled diesel exhaust particles (DEP) alters the gut microbiome and promotes microbial-related inflammation and CVD biomarkers. 4-6-wk-old male C57Bl/6 mice on either a low-fat (LF) or high-fat (HF) diet were exposed via oropharyngeal aspiration to 35 μg DEP suspended in 35 μl saline or saline only (CON) 2x/week for 30 days. To determine whether probiotics could prevent diet or DEP exposure mediated alterations in the gut microbiome or systemic outcomes, a subset of animals on the HF diet was treated orally with 0.3 g/day of Winclove Ecologic Barrier probiotics throughout the study.