Hippocampus and cortex of mice exposed to urban particulate matter

Urban particulate matter (UPM) is known to be a risk factor for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, but recent studies report that UPM exposure is associated with the development of brain disorders. In this study, we performed bioinformatic analysis to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the effects of UPM exposure on the brain. Overall design: UPM SRM 1648a was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA) and certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (Gaithersburg, MD , USA). Dispersed suspensions of SRM1648a UPM were prepared by sonication in sterile PBS for 15 min in a cooling water bath. Seven-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were exposed intranasally to PBS (vehicle) or UPM once daily for 3, 5, and 7 days (short-term exposure) and twice per week for 3, 8, 12, 16, and 20 weeks (long-term exposure). Total RNA was extracted from hippocampus and cortex of mice and then used for sequencing for QuantSeq Analysis.