RNA-seq of air-liquid interface co-cultures of A549 and THP-1 cells exposed to Saharan dust or DQ12 against unexposed controls

Although desert dust is known to cause increased respiratory morbidity and mortality, the underlying biological pathways remain unclear. We used RNA-seq on an advanced human alveolar in vitro model to find yet unidentified genes dysregulated by Saharan dust exposure. For comparison, DQ12 quartz dust was used as a well-established pulmonary toxicant. Co-cultures of A549 cells and phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-differentiated THP-1 cells were cultivated at the air-liquid interface (ALI) for one day before exposure. For exposure, a Vitrocell Cloud 12a system was used. In the exposure chamber, SD or DQ12 suspensions were nebulized onto ALI co-cultures. In parallel, in the control chamber, the vehicle was nebulized onto ALI co-cultures. After exposure for 24 h, RNA was isolated and used for RNA-seq.