Atrial proarrhythmic effect of lead as one of the PM₁₀ metal components of air pollution. An in-silico study

Particulate matter (PM) is considered the most severe environmental pollution problem due to its serious effects on human health associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In this work, a physicochemical characterization of PM₁₀ from the city of Medellin was developed. The results evince that lead (Pb) is one of the most abundant elements since it is present in all analyzed samples. Therefore, Pb was chosen to perform an in-silico study to assess its effects on atrial arrhythmias generation. For this purpose, we developed a model representing the Pb²⁺ blocking effect on the L-type calcium channel. This formulation was incorporated in a human atrial cell mathematical model and in 2D and 3D models of human atria. The simulations showed a proarrhythmic effect at high Pb²⁺ concentrations, through shortening of action potential duration inducing the generation of reentrant activity and atrial flutter. The results contribute to the knowledge about the cardiac physiopathological processes, triggered by lead as one of the main PM₁₀ metal components of air pollution, that yields the generation of arrhythmias.