Morphometric analysis of inflammation in bronchial biopsies following exposure to inhaled diesel exhaust and allergen challenge in atopic subjects

BackgroundAllergen exposure and air pollution are two risk factors for asthma development and airway inflammation that have been examined extensively in isolation. The impact of combined allergen and diesel exhaust exposure has received considerably less attention. Diesel exhaust (DE) is a major contributor to ambient particulate matter (PM) air pollution, which can act as an adjuvant to immune responses and augment allergic inflammation. We …