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Tire particles of different sizes induce a proinflammatory response of varying intensity in lung cells
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Researchers cryogenically ground tires into four size fractions and exposed lung macrophages (RAW264.7 cells) to each, finding that tire particles caused a significant, size-dependent pro-inflammatory response — strongest with the smallest particles (avg. 6 µm) — without direct cytotoxicity or increased reactive oxygen species.
Pollution from road traffic contributes significantly to air pollution through pollutants from exhaust emissions (gases and particles) and non-exhaust emissions (tire wear particles, brake wear particles and the resuspension of road dust). This research examined the hazard of tire particles (TP) and in particular evaluated the effect of TP size on lung macrophages. TP were obtained by cryogenic grinding of a tire and subsequent sieving to obtain four groups of particles (TP70, TP30, TP15, TP5) of different sizes with average diameters of 107 µm, 55 µm, 22 µm, and 6 µm, respectively. A complete physicochemical characterization was performed to determine the size distribution, chemical composition and morphology of these particles. We then investigated the proinflammatory response, oxidative stress and cytotoxicity induced in RAW264.7 cells exposed to four different TP concentrations for 24 h. TP had no direct effect on cytotoxicity, nor did they increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the cells. However, TP induced a significant and size-dependent proinflammatory effect, which was particularly pronounced with small particles. Moreover, this effect was concentration-dependent.
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Researchers compared the lung toxicity of ground tire particles and real tire-and-road wear particles collected from traffic, finding that both triggered inflammation in alveolar immune cells (macrophages) but neither caused significant cell death or oxidative damage. Real road particles prompted slightly more inflammation than pure tire rubber, suggesting the rubber itself drives most of the lung harm from tire pollution.
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Researchers found that tire wear particles generated from different road friction patterns exhibit varying levels of toxicity to human lung cells in laboratory tests. The study suggests that environmental persistent free radicals formed during tire wear play a dominant role in driving these differences in cytotoxicity, with sliding friction particles showing distinct properties from rolling friction particles.
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This review summarizes existing research on tiny particles worn off tires, which range from coarse dust to invisible nanoparticles. It describes how these particles spread through air, soil and water, affect soil chemistry and harm aquatic life, and cause lung inflammation and cell damage in laboratory studies, though direct evidence of harm to human health remains limited.
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