The protective effects of taurine and fish oil supplementation on PM2.5-induced heart dysfunction among aged mice: A random double-blind study.

ABSTRACT

As it is nearly impossible to reduce PM2.5 concentrations in most cities to safe limits in a short period of time, dietary supplementation presents a promising approach for mitigating the adverse effects of PM2.5 exposure. A cross-sectional study showed that the elderly population of Linfen (PM2.5 102 µg/m3) exhibited significantly lower serum taurine levels, as well as higher oxidative stress levels and cardiovascular health risks, than the corresponding population in Guangzhou (PM2.5 39 µg/m3). We conducted a random double-blind study on aged mice that employed a "real-world" PM2.5 exposure system to simulate the conditions of Linfen with the aim of investigating the protective effects of taurine and fish oil supplementation on PM2.5-induced heart dysfunction. When compared with the placebo group, supplementation with taurine and fish oil not only maintained normal taurine levels, but also suppressed oxidative stress and inflammation in aged mice subjected to high concentrations of PM2.5. Variations in heart rate, contractile function, cardiac oxidative stress, inflammation and fibrosis among different groups of aged mice were used to clarify the beneficial effects of taurine and fish oil supplementation. Our results not only revealed the protective effects of taurine and fish oil supplementation on heart dysfunction induced by PM2.5 exposure from the aged mice experiments and also provided new means for the elderly to resist PM2.5 pollution at the individual level.