Ambient black carbon reaches the kidneys

Background: Ultrafine particles, including black carbon (BC), can reach the systemic circulation and therefore may distribute to distant organs upon inhalation. The kidneys may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of BC exposure due to their filtration function.Objectives: We hypothesized that BC particles reach the kidneys via the systemic circulation, where the particles may reside in structural components of kidney tissue and impair kidney function. Methods: In kidney biopsies from 25 transplant patients, we visualized BC particles using white light generation under femtosecond-pulsed illumination. The presence of urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) and cystatin c (CysC) were evaluated with ELISA. We assessed the association between internal and external exposure matrices and urinary biomarkers using Pearson correlation and linear regression models.Results: BC particles could be identified in all biopsy samples with a geometric mean (5th, 95th percentile) of 1.80 x 103 (3.65 x 102, 7.50 x 103) particles/mm3 kidney tissue, predominantly observed in the interstitium (100 %) and tubules (80 %), followed by the blood vessels and capillaries (40 %), and the glomerulus (24 %). Independent from covariates and potential confounders, we found that each 10 % higher tissue BC load resulted in 8.24 % (p = 0.03) higher urinary KIM-1. In addition, residential proximity to a major road was inversely associated with urinary CysC (+10 % distance:-4.68 %; p = 0.01) and KIM-1 (+10 % distance:-3.99 %; p < 0.01). Other urinary biomarkers, e.g., the estimated glomerular filtration rate or creatinine clearance showed no significant associations.Discussion and conclusion: Our findings that BC particles accumulate near different structural components of the kidney represent a potential mechanism explaining the detrimental effects of particle air pollution exposure on kidney function. Furthermore, urinary KIM-1 and CysC show potential as air pollution-induced kidney injury biomarkers for taking a first step in addressing the adverse effects BC might exert on kidney function.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates that black carbon particles can accumulate in kidney tissue and potentially have adverse effects on kidney function. The presence of black carbon particles in kidney biopsies was correlated with urinary biomarkers of kidney injury. Therefore, black carbon particles may exert harmful effects on kidney function.