Stimulation of IL-8 release from epithelial cells by gas cooker PM(10): a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE To measure the effect of matter collected by a method that has a 50% efficiency for particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 microm (PM10), generated by gas and electric cooking, on A549 epithelial cells with and without nitrogen dioxide (NO2). METHOD Multiple indoor PM10 samples were collected on Teflon filters during the use of gas or electric cookers. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) concentrations were measured with a sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system. RESULTS Treatment of A549 cells with PM10 generated from gas cooking resulted in increased concentrations of IL-8 compared with untreated cells; particles from the electric cooker had no effect. NO2 did not alter the concentration of IL-8. CONCLUSION PM10 generated by gas cooking has the potential to cause proinflammatory effects in lung cells. This may have implications for susceptible people.