Air pollution’s hidden impact: linking fine particles to early signs of autoimmune disease
Detailed blood analysis reveals how air pollution may alter immune biomarkers long before autoimmune disease is diagnosed.
Researchers at McGill University (Montreal, Canada) have uncovered a link between air pollution exposure and early immune changes associated with autoimmune disease. Using health and environmental data from Ontario, the study examined how fine particulate pollution may influence the body before illness appears.
Autoimmune diseases often develop silently over the years. Diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis affect millions worldwide, yet their causes remain only partly understood. While genetics play a role, environmental triggers are increasingly under scrutiny, particularly as air pollution affects populations across urban rural and suburban regions.
“We know some genetic factors play a role in autoimmune disease, but they don’t tell the whole story,” commented Dr Sasha Bernatsky, a James McGill Professor of Medicine.
The study focused on fine particulate matter (PM2.5), microscopic pollution particles capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream. Researchers examined blood samples from more than 3,500 CanPath participants (a national health registry) using indirect immunofluorescence assay on HEp-2 cells to assess levels of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), a well-established biomarker associated with immune dysregulation and autoimmune conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus.
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By comparing participants’ postal codes with local pollution levels, the team estimated long-term PM2.5 exposure and compared it with immune marker profiles. This approach allowed researchers to link environmental exposure directly to measurable immune changes rather than diagnosed disease alone.
The team discovered that participants exposed to higher PM2.5 concentrations were significantly more likely to show elevated ANA levels, suggesting that pollution may initiate or amplify immune responses that precede clinical autoimmune disease, expanding our understanding of how environmental factors shape autoimmune risk.
Further analyses in other provinces and deeper immune profiling could support earlier detection strategies and inform pollution standards aimed at preventing immune-mediated disease and identifying communities most at risk, with the team aiming to assess data in British Columbia next.