Dehydroepiandrosterone protects endothelial cells against inflammatory events induced by urban particulate matter and titanium dioxide nanoparticles

Particulate matter (PM) and nanoparticles (NPs) induce activation and dysfunction of endothelial cells characterized by inhibition of proliferation, increase of adhesion and adhesion molecules expression, increase of ROS production, and death. DHEA has shown anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in HUVEC activated with proinflammatory agents. We evaluated if DHEA could protect against some inflammatory events produced by PM₁₀ and TiO₂ NPs in HUVEC. Adhesion was evaluated by a coculture with U937 cells, proliferation by crystal violet staining, and oxidative stress through DCFDA and Griess reagent. PM₁₀ and TiO₂ NPs induced adhesion and oxidative stress and inhibited proliferation of HUVEC; however, when particles were added in combination with DHEA, the effects previously observed were abolished independently from the tested concentrations and the time of addition of DHEA to the cultures. These results indicate that DHEA exerts significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects on the damage induced by particles in HUVEC, suggesting that DHEA could be useful to counteract the harmful effects and inflammatory diseases induced by PM and NPs.