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Studies into the effects of ultrafine particles in the lung have shown adverse effects considered to be due in part to the particle size. Air pollution particles (PM₁₀) are associated with exacerbations of respiratory disease and deaths from cardiovascular causes in epidemiological studies and the ultrafine fraction of PM₁₀ has been hypothesized to play an important role. The aim of the present study was to investigate proinflammatory responses to various sizes of polystyrene particles as a simple model of particles of varying size including ultrafine. In the animal model, we demonstrated that there was a significantly greater neutrophil influx into the rat lung after instillation of 64-nm polystyrene particles compared with 202- and 535-nm particles and this was mirrored in other parameters of lung inflammation, such as increased protein and lactate dehydrogenase in bronchoalveolar lavage. When surface area instilled was …