Comparative study of human fibroblasts in vitro from lung and esophageal cells exposed to World Trade Center 9/11 particulate matter with specific emphasis on the role of Copper and/or Zinc.

The World Trade Center attack on September 11th, 2001 brought a tremendous level of environment pollution/damage to the New York City area. More than 6,000 individuals have been affected by the toxic dust released in this attack. Many of them have been suffering from mental and physical illnesses including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung cancer. Most recently gastroesophageal related diseases have been seen in these same first responders. More than 44% of the WTC rescuers have developed GERD symptoms since 2005 and long standing reflux symptoms will lead to Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer. Copper, one of the metals found in the World Trade Center contributes to 4% of the World Trade Center (WTC) dust while Zinc contributes to 34%. The positive/negative role of these two particular heavy metals will be compared to results seen in exposure to total WTC dust. It is known that excessive amounts of copper leads to the production of highly reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS is known to be responsible for lipid peroxidation in membranes, direct oxidation of proteins, and cleavage of DNA and RNA molecule. Our preliminary studies using the Promega Ros Glo assay have shown that WTC dust is affecting lung cells more than esophageal cells. This assay indicates the amount of ROS by increments of luminescence. These preliminary studies are also indicating that there is a remarkably higher amount of copper cytotoxicity in esophageal cells. These experiments will be repeated to verify preliminary findings and future tests will add small quantities of zinc, which is known to reduce copper toxicity. It is hoped that these experiments will uncover the role of WTC dust and specific heavy metals, in damage to esophageal cells which has previously studied at an epidemiological level only.