Acute blood neutrophilia induced by short-term compost dust exposure in previously unexposed healthy individuals

  • Tim Müller
  • Rudolf A. Jörres
  • Eva Maria Scharrer
  • Harald Hessel
  • Dennis Nowak
  • Katja Radon
Original Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Objectives: Systemic effects of organic dust inhalation have been described in farming environments. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a single exposure at a biowaste composting facility could also exert systemic effects in healthy volunteers not previously exposed to organic dust from such facilities. Methods: Seventeen subjects (age 20–35 years) were exposed to organic dust for 2 h (exposure day) during moderate exercise; 12 of these subjects also took part in a control experiment (control day). Spirometry was performed before and immediately after the exposure. White blood cell counts and levels of tumor-necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in peripheral blood were determined before and 3 h after exposure. Results: Exposures did not result in significant changes in lung function or blood cytokine levels. In contrast, the number and percentage of neutrophils increased during the exposure day [median (range) percent change of percentages 14 (−2; 67) %; P=0.002], but not during the control day [5 (−22; 35) %; P=0.66). Furthermore, there was a decrease in the number and percentage of eosinophils during the exposure day [−47 (−57; 0.0) %; P=0.002], whereas the change during the control day was smaller [−8 (−56; 71) %; P=0.68]. Conclusion: Short-term exposure of healthy, young subjects to organic dust from composting facilities had opposite effects on the numbers of blood neutrophils and blood eosinophils. These effects, though mild, suggest that even during a limited period of moderate work a sufficient amount of bioactive material can be deposited in the lung to elicit acute systemic alterations.

Keywords

Cytokines Organic dust Endotoxin Interleukin Inflammation 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgements

We thank all study subjects for their participation and Mr. Bauer for providing us with the opportunity of performing exposures in a real-life setting. We are grateful to Angelika Kronseder, Dr. Rudolf Schierl and Stephan Gröbmair for laboratory analyses. The study was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG; No 262-6/1).

References

  1. American Thoracic Society (1995) Standardization of spirometry, 1994 update. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 152:1107–1136Google Scholar
  2. Arvidson NG, Gudbjornsson B, Elfman L, Ryden AC, Totterman TH, Hallgren R (1994) Circadian rhythm of serum interleukin-6 in rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 53:521–524PubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Brenner IK, Natale VM, Vasiliou P, Moldoveanu AI, Shek PN, Shephard RJ (1999) Impact of three different types of exercise on components of the inflammatory response. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 80:452–460PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Bünger J, Antlauf-Lammers M, Schulz TG, Westphal GA, Muller MM, Ruhnau P, Hallier E (2000) Health complaints and immunological markers of exposure to bioaerosols among biowaste collectors and compost workers. Occup Environ Med 57:458–464PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Clark CS, Rylander R, Larsson L (1983) Levels of gram-negative bacteria, Aspergillus fumigatus, dust, and endotoxin at compost plants. Appl Environ Microbiol 45:1501–1505PubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. DeRijk R, Michelson D, Karp B, Petrides J, Galliven E, Deuster P, Paciotti G, Gold PW, Sternberg EM (1997) Exercise and circadian rhythm-induced variations in plasma cortisol differentially regulate interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) production in humans: high sensitivity of TNF alpha and resistance of IL-6. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 82:2182–2191PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Dosman JA, Senthilselvan A, Kirychuk SP, Lemay S, Barber EM, Willson P, Cormier Y, Hurst TS (2000) Positive human health effects of wearing a respirator in a swine barn. Chest 118:852–860PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Douwes J, Versloot P, Hollander A, Heederik D, Doekes G (1995) The influence of various dust sampling and extraction methods on the measurement of airborne endotoxin. Appl Environ Microbiol 61(5):1763–1769PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Douwes J, Pearce N, Heederik D (2002) Does environmental endotoxin exposure prevent asthma? Thorax 57:86–90PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Gabriel H, Kindermann W (1997) The acute immune response to exercise: what does it mean? Int J Sports Med 18(Suppl 1):S28–S45PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Heldal KK, Halstensen AS, Thorn J, Eduard W, Halstensen TS (2003) Airway inflammation in waste handlers exposed to bioaerosols assessed by induced sputum. Eur Respir J 21:641–645PubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Herr CE, Zur Nieden A, Jankofsky M, Stilianakis NI, Boedeker RH, Eikmann TF (2003) Effects of bioaerosol polluted outdoor air on airways of residents: a cross sectional study. Occup Environ Med 60:336–342PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Kanabrocki EL, Sothern RB, Messmore HL, Roitman-Johnson B, McCormick JB, Dawson S, Bremner FW, Third JL, Nemchausky BA, Shirazi P, Scheving LE (1999) Circadian interrelationships among levels of plasma fibrinogen, blood platelets, and serum interleukin-6. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost 5:37–42PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Macari DM, Teixeira MM, Hellewell PG (1996) Priming of eosinophil recruitment in vivo by LPS pretreatment. J Immunol 157:1684–1692PubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Mücke W (1997) Keimbelastung in der Abfallwirtschaft, 2nd edn. Institut für Toxikologie und Umwelthygiene der Technischen Universität München, MünchenGoogle Scholar
  16. Northoff H, Weinstock C, Berg A (1994) The cytokine response to strenuous exercise. Int J Sports Med 15(Suppl 3):S167–S171PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Nowak D (1998) Die Wirkung von Stalluftbestandteilen, insbesondere in Schweineställen, aus arbeitsmedizinischer Sicht. Dtsch Tierärztl Wochenschr 105:225–234PubMedGoogle Scholar
  18. Ostrowski R, Fischer G, Dott W (1996) Mikrobielle Belastung in Kompostieranlagen. Kongress der Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Umweltmedizin, Graz Wien ÖsterreichGoogle Scholar
  19. Ostrowski K, Rohde T, Asp S, Schjerling P, Pedersen BK (1999) Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine balance in strenuous exercise in humans. J Physiol 515(Pt 1):287–291PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Pedersen BK, Ostrowski K, Rohde T, Bruunsgaard H (1998) The cytokine response to strenuous exercise. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 76:505–511PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Petrovsky N, Harrison LC (1998) The chronobiology of human cytokine production. Int Rev Immunol 16:635–649PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Petrovsky N, McNair P, Harrison LC (1998) Diurnal rhythms of pro-inflammatory cytokines: regulation by plasma cortisol and therapeutic implications. Cytokine 10:307–312PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Quanjer PH, Tammeling GJ, Cotes JE, Pedersen OF, Peslin R, Yernault JC (1993) Lung volumes and forced ventilatory flows. Report of the Working Party for Standardization of Lung Function Tests. European Community for Steel and Coal. Official Statement of the European Respiratory Society. Eur Respir J Suppl 16:5–40Google Scholar
  24. Radon K, Danuser B, Iversen M, Monso E, Weber C, Hartung J, Donham K, Palmgren U, Nowak D (2002a) Air contaminants in different European farming environments. Ann Agric Environ Med 9:41–48PubMedGoogle Scholar
  25. Radon K, Monso E, Weber C, Danuser B, Iversen M, Opravil U, Donham K, Hartung J, Pedersen S, Garz S, Blainey D, Rabe U, Nowak D (2002b) Prevalence and risk factors for airway diseases in farmers—summary of results of the European Farmers’ Project. Ann Agric Environ Med 9:207–213PubMedGoogle Scholar
  26. Radon K (2006) The two sides of the endotoxin coin. Occup Environ Med 63:73–78PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Rylander R et al (1997) Endotoxins in the environment a criteria document. Int J Occup Environ Health 13(1):S1–S48Google Scholar
  28. Senthilselvan A, Zhang Y, Dosman JA, Barber EM, Holfeld LE, Kirychuk SP, Cormier Y, Hurst TS, Rhodes CS (1997) Positive human health effects of dust suppression with canola oil in swine barns. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 156:410–417PubMedGoogle Scholar
  29. Shek PN, Shephard RJ (1998) Physical exercise as a human model of limited inflammatory response. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 76:589–597PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Sigsgaard T, Abel A, Donbaek L, Malmros P (1994) Lung function changes among recycling workers exposed to organic dust. Am J Ind Med 25:69–72PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Sothern RB, Roitman-Johnson B, Kanabrocki EL, Yager JG, Fuerstenberg RK, Weatherbee JA, Young MR, Nemchausky BM, Scheving LE (1995) Circadian characteristics of interleukin-6 in blood and urine of clinically healthy men. In Vivo 9:331–339PubMedGoogle Scholar
  32. Thorn J, Beijer L, Rylander R (1998) Airways inflammation and glucan exposure among household waste collectors. Am J Ind Med 33:463–470PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Thorn J, Beijer L, Rylander R (2002) Work related symptoms among sewage workers: a nationwide survey in Sweden. Occup Environ Med 59:562–566PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Weinstock C, Konig D, Harnischmacher R, Keul J, Berg A, Northoff H (1997) Effect of exhaustive exercise stress on the cytokine response. Med Sci Sports Exerc 29:345–354PubMedGoogle Scholar
  35. Wouters I (1999) Endotoxin and beta-(1–>3)-glucan exposure in household waste collectors and compost workers: a relation with upper airway inflammation. Schriftenr Ver Wasser Boden Lufthyg 104:546–550PubMedGoogle Scholar
  36. Wouters IM, Douwes J, Doekes G, Thorne PS, Brunekreef B, Heederik DJ (2000) Increased levels of markers of microbial exposure in homes with indoor storage of organic household waste. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:627–31PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2006

Authors and Affiliations

  • Tim Müller
    • 1
  • Rudolf A. Jörres
    • 1
  • Eva Maria Scharrer
    • 1
    • 2
  • Harald Hessel
    • 1
    • 3
  • Dennis Nowak
    • 1
  • Katja Radon
    • 1
    • 4
  1. 1.Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational and Environmental MedicineLudwig-Maximilians-University MunichMunichGermany
  2. 2.Department for DermatologyLudwig-Maximilians-University MunichMunichGermany
  3. 3.Department of PathologyLudwig-Maximilians-University MunichMunichGermany
  4. 4.Unit for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology & Net Teaching, Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational and Environmental MedicineLudwig-Maximilians-UniversityMunichGermany

Personalised recommendations