Air pollution represents one of the most pressing global public health challenges, with profound health effects and socioeconomic impacts. It is currently ranked as the second leading risk factor for mortality, accounting for 8.1 million deaths annually1,2,3. Among airborne pollutants, fine particulate matter with diameters of less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) poses the greatest health risk due to its ability to penetrate deep into the respiratory tract4,5. Elevated PM2.5 exposure has been consistently linked to impaired lung function and increased rates of hospitalization for respiratory diseases6. The prevalence of allergic inflammatory diseases, including asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis, has been increasing worldwide and is disproportionately elevated in the highly polluted megacities4.
Allergic airway diseases such as atopic asthma are primarily mediated by a type 2 inflammatory response characterized by elevated levels of the cytokines interleukin‑4 (IL‑4) and interleukin‑13 (IL‑13) and activation of the Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 6 (STAT6) signaling pathway7. In airway epithelial cells, IL-4- and IL-13-driven phosphorylation of STAT6 promotes mucus hypersecretion and epithelial barrier disruption, identifying STAT6 as a central mediator of allergic airway pathology and a relevant therapeutic target8,9. Experimental evidence from murine models indicates that exposure to PM2.5 and sulfur dioxide augments STAT6 signaling and exacerbates allergic airway inflammation10,11. However, whether individual air pollution constituents directly modulate STAT6 transcriptional activity in human airway epithelial cells has not been systematically evaluated.
Air pollution comprises a chemically complex mixture of constituents, including particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, and inorganic salts, whose individual contributions to airway STAT6 activation remain poorly defined12,13. Current methodologies for measuring STAT6 activity in airway epithelial cells, such as endpoint phosphorylation assays or transient transfection-based reporter systems, are not amenable to large-scale chemical screening. A stable, cell-based STAT6 reporter platform in human airway epithelial cells would therefore provide a scalable tool to identify pollution-derived compounds that modulate allergic airway signaling. This protocol describes the development and validation of a stable STAT6 luciferase reporter assay in 16HBE14o− airway epithelial cells, enabling quantitative evaluation of STAT6 activation for systematic screening of environmental samples and individual chemical toxicants.