Acute particulate matter affects cardiovascular autonomic modulation and IFN-γ methylation in healthy volunteers

Highlights: • In healthy subjects, acute exposure to PM affects vagal autonomic control of the heart. • PM exposure increases methylation of a pro-inflammatory gene, i.e. methylation of interferon γ (IFN- γ). • PM per se is able to trigger autonomic deregulation and inflammation in a dose-dependent manner. Air particulate matter (PM) is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Altered autonomic functions play a key role in PM-induced cardiovascular disease. However, previous studies have not address the impact of PM on sympathetic and parasympathetic control of heart function, independently, and using controlled conditions, i.e., increasing titration of PM of known composition, in absence of other potential confounding factors. To fill this gap, here we used symbolic analysis that is capable of detecting non-mutual changes of the two autonomic branches, thus considering them as independent, and concentrations of PM as they could be measured at peak levels in Milan during a polluted winter day.