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Wheat flour exposure results in recruitment of inflammatory cells in the lungs of healthy individuals
Author(s) -
Gripenbäck Sofia,
Lundgren Lennart,
Eklund Anders,
Lidén Carola,
Skare Lizbet,
Tornling Göran,
Grunewald Johan
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.10238
Subject(s) - medicine , bronchoalveolar lavage , amylase , wheat flour , food science , respiratory system , immunology , lung , enzyme , biology , biochemistry
Background Flour dust in bakeries is known to cause allergic as well as nonallergic respiratory symptoms. Fungal α‐amylase is a commonly used baking additive that has been shown to have allergenic properties. The aim of this study was to investigate any effects on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of healthy individuals exposed to airborne wheat flour dust with or without fungal α‐amylase added. Methods Fifteen subjects were exposed during 1 hr in an exposure chamber, ten individuals to wheat flour alone and five with α‐amylase added. BAL was performed 2–6 weeks before and 1 day after the exposure. BAL cells were differentially counted and flowcytometric analysis of the expression of activation, adhesion, and subset markers on alveolar macrophages (AM) and T cells in BAL fluid and peripheral blood were carried out. Results Exposure to wheat flour dust increased the total number of cells in BAL fluid from 75.4 (i.q. range 70.4–104.1) to 127.4 (92.1–187.4) cells × 10 6 /L, P < 0.01. There was a significant difference in the change of total BAL cell concentration between the study group exposed to wheat flour only (n = 10; increase with 91.9 × 10 6 /L) and the group exposed to wheat flour with the baking additive fungal α‐amylase (n = 5; decrease with 5.4 × 10 6 /L). The exposure level of respirable dust was lower in the group that received α‐amylase and the increase in BAL cell concentration showed a positive correlation with the concentration of respirable dust in the exposure chamber (r = 0.80, P < 0.001). The phenotypic analysis of AM indicated an influx of monocytic cells. Conclusions The results indicate that the concentration of respirable dust, but not α‐amylase, is of importance for the recruitment of inflammatory cells to the peripheral airways in healthy individuals exposed to wheat flour dust. Am. J. Ind. Med. 44:75–82, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.