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Diesel exhaust particles disrupt mouse and human iPSC-derived microglial function and Amyloid-β clearance in Alzheimer’s disease models
Yan H, Bhat Y, Malahov P, Sabogal-Guáqueta AM, Mitchell-Garcia T, Chen T, Genestant E, Iveša M et al.. bioRxiv, 2026-07-23
Topic: Air pollution and environmental exposures
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, yet the environmental drivers that accelerate its progression remain poorly defined. Traffic-related air pollution is emerging as a modifiable AD risk factor, but how inhaled particles perturb microglial clearance of amyloid beta (Aβ) is unknown. Microglia are the principal Aβ-clearing phagocytes of the brain. Here, we showed that exposure of primary mouse microglia and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia (iMGLs) to 3–100 µg/mL diesel exhaust particles (DEP) disrupted microglial homeostasis, induced morphological abnormalities, increased reactive oxygen species, impaired lysosomal degradation, and led to a concentration-dependent loss of phagocytic capacity. Importantly, DEP markedly reduces Aβ uptake in both species. Transcriptomic profiling revealed a DEP-induced, non-canonical state characterized by metabolic reprogramming, broad suppression of inflammatory pathways, antigen-presentation, chemokine, and species-specific remodeling during subsequent Aβ challenge, including defective chemotaxis, cell cycle, and cytoskeletal signatures. These data show that DEP profoundly alters microglial transcriptional and metabolic states, leading to impaired Aβ clearance, which could, thereby, further contribute to AD progression.
Key findings
- Here, we showed that exposure of primary mouse microglia and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia (iMGLs) to 3–100 µg/mL diesel exhaust particles (DEP) disrupted microglial homeostasis, induced morphological abnormalities, increased reactive oxygen species, impaired lysosomal degradation, and led to a concentration-dependent loss of phagocytic capacity.
- Transcriptomic profiling revealed a DEP-induced, non-canonical state characterized by metabolic reprogramming, broad suppression of inflammatory pathways, antigen-presentation, chemokine, and species-specific remodeling during subsequent Aβ challenge, including defective chemotaxis, cell cycle, and cytoskeletal signatures.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 21 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 21 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (bioRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “mouse”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 13 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 21 out of 100. |
| Total | 21 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Yan, H., Bhat, Y., Malahov, P., Sabogal-Guáqueta, A. M., Mitchell-Garcia, T., Chen, T., et al. (2026). Diesel exhaust particles disrupt mouse and human iPSC-derived microglial function and Amyloid-β clearance in Alzheimer’s disease models. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.20.739493
Vancouver
Yan H, Bhat Y, Malahov P, Sabogal-Guáqueta AM, Mitchell-Garcia T, Chen T, et al. Diesel exhaust particles disrupt mouse and human iPSC-derived microglial function and Amyloid-β clearance in Alzheimer’s disease models. bioRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.07.20.739493.
BibTeX
@article{yan2026-93e00b0f,
author = {Yan, H. and Bhat, Y. and Malahov, P. and Sabogal-Guáqueta, A. M. and Mitchell-Garcia, T. and Chen, T. and Genestant, E. and Iveša, M. and others},
title = {{Diesel exhaust particles disrupt mouse and human iPSC-derived microglial function and Amyloid-β clearance in Alzheimer’s disease models}},
journal = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.07.20.739493},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.20.739493}
}
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