Author information Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Lung Biology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. Abstract It was recently demonstrated that particulate matter (PM) containing water-soluble zinc produces cardiac injury following pulmonary exposure. To investigate whether pulmonary zinc exposure produces systemic metal imbalance and direct cardiac effects, male Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats (12-14 wk age) were intratra