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Occupational quartz and particle exposure affect systemic levels of inflammatory markers related to inflammasome activation and cardiovascular disease.
Environ Health. 2023 03 13; 22(1):25.EH

Abstract

BACKGROUND

The inflammatory responses are central components of diseases associated with particulate matter (PM) exposure, including systemic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The aim of this study was to determine if exposure to PM, including respirable dust or quartz in the iron foundry environment mediates systemic inflammatory responses, focusing on the NLRP3 inflammasome and novel or established inflammatory markers of CVDs.

METHODS

The exposure to PM, including respirable dust, metals and quartz were determined in 40 foundry workers at two separate occasions per worker. In addition, blood samples were collected both pre-shift and post-shift and quantified for inflammatory markers. The respirable dust and quartz exposures were correlated to levels of inflammatory markers in blood using Pearson, Kendall τ and mixed model statistics. Analyzed inflammatory markers included: 1) general markers of inflammation, including interleukins, chemokines, acute phase proteins, and white blood cell counts, 2) novel or established inflammatory markers of CVD, such as growth/differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), CD40 ligand, soluble suppressor of tumorigenesis 2 (sST2), intercellular/vascular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1, VCAM-1), and myeloperoxidase (MPO), and 3) NLRP3 inflammasome-related markers, including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), and caspase-1 activity.

RESULTS

The average respirator adjusted exposure level to respirable dust and quartz for the 40 foundry workers included in the study was 0.65 and 0.020 mg/m3, respectively. Respirable quartz exposure correlated with several NLRP3 inflammasome-related markers, including plasma levels of IL-1β and IL-18, and several caspase-1 activity measures in monocytes, demonstrating a reverse relationship. Respirable dust exposure mainly correlated with non-inflammasome related markers like CXCL8 and sST2.

CONCLUSIONS

The finding that NLRP3 inflammasome-related markers correlated with PM and quartz exposure suggest that this potent inflammatory cellular mechanism indeed is affected even at current exposure levels in Swedish iron foundries. The results highlight concerns regarding the safety of current exposure limits to respirable dust and quartz, and encourage continuous efforts to reduce exposure in dust and quartz exposed industries.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Hedbrant A
School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden. alexander.hedbrant@oru.se. Inflammatory Response and Infection Susceptibility Centre (iRiSC), Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden. alexander.hedbrant@oru.se.
Engström C
Division of Mathematics and Physics, The School of Education, Culture and Communication, Mälardalen University, Box 883, 721 23, Västerås, Sweden.
Andersson L
School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden. Inflammatory Response and Infection Susceptibility Centre (iRiSC), Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden. Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Örebro University Hospital, 701 85, Örebro, Sweden.
Eklund D
School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden. Inflammatory Response and Infection Susceptibility Centre (iRiSC), Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden.
Westberg H
School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden. Inflammatory Response and Infection Susceptibility Centre (iRiSC), Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden. Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Örebro University Hospital, 701 85, Örebro, Sweden.
Persson A
School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden. Inflammatory Response and Infection Susceptibility Centre (iRiSC), Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden.
Särndahl E
School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden. Inflammatory Response and Infection Susceptibility Centre (iRiSC), Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden.

MeSH

HumansQuartzOccupational ExposureInterleukin-18InflammasomesCardiovascular DiseasesNLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 ProteinDustBiomarkersParticulate MatterIronCaspasesInhalation ExposureAir Pollutants, Occupational

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

36907865

Citation

Hedbrant, Alexander, et al. "Occupational Quartz and Particle Exposure Affect Systemic Levels of Inflammatory Markers Related to Inflammasome Activation and Cardiovascular Disease." Environmental Health : a Global Access Science Source, vol. 22, no. 1, 2023, p. 25.
Hedbrant A, Engström C, Andersson L, et al. Occupational quartz and particle exposure affect systemic levels of inflammatory markers related to inflammasome activation and cardiovascular disease. Environ Health. 2023;22(1):25.
Hedbrant, A., Engström, C., Andersson, L., Eklund, D., Westberg, H., Persson, A., & Särndahl, E. (2023). Occupational quartz and particle exposure affect systemic levels of inflammatory markers related to inflammasome activation and cardiovascular disease. Environmental Health : a Global Access Science Source, 22(1), 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-023-00980-1
Hedbrant A, et al. Occupational Quartz and Particle Exposure Affect Systemic Levels of Inflammatory Markers Related to Inflammasome Activation and Cardiovascular Disease. Environ Health. 2023 03 13;22(1):25. PubMed PMID: 36907865.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Occupational quartz and particle exposure affect systemic levels of inflammatory markers related to inflammasome activation and cardiovascular disease. AU - Hedbrant,Alexander, AU - Engström,Christopher, AU - Andersson,Lena, AU - Eklund,Daniel, AU - Westberg,Håkan, AU - Persson,Alexander, AU - Särndahl,Eva, Y1 - 2023/03/13/ PY - 2022/07/05/received PY - 2023/03/07/accepted PY - 2023/3/13/entrez PY - 2023/3/14/pubmed PY - 2023/3/15/medline KW - CVD biomarkers KW - Inflammation KW - NLRP3 inflammasome KW - Occupational exposure KW - PM KW - Silica SP - 25 EP - 25 JF - Environmental health : a global access science source JO - Environ Health VL - 22 IS - 1 N2 - BACKGROUND: The inflammatory responses are central components of diseases associated with particulate matter (PM) exposure, including systemic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The aim of this study was to determine if exposure to PM, including respirable dust or quartz in the iron foundry environment mediates systemic inflammatory responses, focusing on the NLRP3 inflammasome and novel or established inflammatory markers of CVDs. METHODS: The exposure to PM, including respirable dust, metals and quartz were determined in 40 foundry workers at two separate occasions per worker. In addition, blood samples were collected both pre-shift and post-shift and quantified for inflammatory markers. The respirable dust and quartz exposures were correlated to levels of inflammatory markers in blood using Pearson, Kendall τ and mixed model statistics. Analyzed inflammatory markers included: 1) general markers of inflammation, including interleukins, chemokines, acute phase proteins, and white blood cell counts, 2) novel or established inflammatory markers of CVD, such as growth/differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), CD40 ligand, soluble suppressor of tumorigenesis 2 (sST2), intercellular/vascular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1, VCAM-1), and myeloperoxidase (MPO), and 3) NLRP3 inflammasome-related markers, including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), and caspase-1 activity. RESULTS: The average respirator adjusted exposure level to respirable dust and quartz for the 40 foundry workers included in the study was 0.65 and 0.020 mg/m3, respectively. Respirable quartz exposure correlated with several NLRP3 inflammasome-related markers, including plasma levels of IL-1β and IL-18, and several caspase-1 activity measures in monocytes, demonstrating a reverse relationship. Respirable dust exposure mainly correlated with non-inflammasome related markers like CXCL8 and sST2. CONCLUSIONS: The finding that NLRP3 inflammasome-related markers correlated with PM and quartz exposure suggest that this potent inflammatory cellular mechanism indeed is affected even at current exposure levels in Swedish iron foundries. The results highlight concerns regarding the safety of current exposure limits to respirable dust and quartz, and encourage continuous efforts to reduce exposure in dust and quartz exposed industries. SN - 1476-069X UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/36907865/Occupational_quartz_and_particle_exposure_affect_systemic_levels_of_inflammatory_markers_related_to_inflammasome_activation_and_cardiovascular_disease_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -