BACKGROUND: Arsenic is a significant global environmental health problem. Exposure to arsenic in early life has been shown to increase the rate of respiratory infections during infancy, reduce childhood lung function, and increase the rates of bronchiectasis in early adulthood. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine if early life exposure to arsenic exacerbates the response to early life influenza infection in mice. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were exposed to arsenic in utero and throughout postnatal life. At 1 week of age, a subgroup of mice were infected with influenza A. We then assessed the acute and long-term effects of arsenic exposure on viral clearance, inflammation, lung structure, and lung function. RESULTS: Early life arsenic exposure reduced the clearance of and exacerbated the inflammatory response to influenza A, and resulted in acute and long-term changes in lung mechanics and airway structure. CONCLUSIONS: Increased susceptibility to respiratory infections combined with exaggerated inflammatory responses throughout early life may contribute to the development of bronchiectasis in arsenic-exposed populations.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Cardiovascular medicine and haematology
Research Field:	Respiratory diseases
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:	Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Zosky, GR (Professor Graeme Zosky)
ID Code:	89444
Year Published:	2013
Web of Science® Times Cited:	35
Deposited By:	Medicine
Deposited On:	2014-03-05
Last Modified:	2017-11-07
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