The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relationships between urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and the intake of milk and other foods, in a group of school children of the Veneto region, in North East Italy. A questionnaire, concerning the daily intake of milk, yoghurt, cheese and other animal foodstuffs, was distributed to 233 schoolchildren aged between 11 and 15 yr. The use of iodized salt was also investigated. UIC was measured in a casual urine sample of all children investigated. The iodine content of 28 samples of milk and of 13 samples of yoghurt, bought during the summer in shops of the same area, was measured. UIC values ranged between 25 and 436 microg/l, median value was 140 microg/l, mean value 149+/-78 microg/l. The median iodine content of milk and yoghurt were 278 microg/l and 216 microg/l, respectively. With regard to dietary habits, about 70% of the children took 200 ml of milk or more per day, which corresponds to a daily intake of iodine ranging between 50 and 100 microg a day. About 30% of schoolchildren used iodized salt. A highly significant correlation between UIC and milk intake was observed (p=0.0005), while the relationship was poor or absent in the case of both intake of other foodstuffs and use of iodized salt (p=0.38). In conclusion, the results of the study document the very important role of cows' milk as a source of iodine in childhood in the Veneto region, Italy.

Enhanced proliferation of fibroblasts is a primary characteristic of lung fibrosis. Macrophage-secreted platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a potent mitogen and chemoattractant for lung fibroblasts. The magnitude of the fibroblast PDGF response is dependent on the number of PDGF receptor alpha (PDGF-R alpha) relative to PDGF-R beta at the cell surface. We recently reported that upregulation of the PDGF-R alpha subtype by interleukin (IL)-1beta results in enhanced lung fibroblast proliferation in response to PDGF-AA, PDGF-AB, and PDGF-BB whereas transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 has the opposite effect. Both IL-1beta and TGF-beta1 are produced by particle-activated macrophages in vivo and in vitro. We studied the net effect of macrophage conditioned medium (MOCM), which contains both IL-1beta and TGF-beta1, on the expression of the lung fibroblast PDGF receptor system. MOCM obtained from unstimulated, titanium dioxide (TiO2)-, chrysotile asbestos-, or residual oil fly ash (ROFA)-exposed macrophages in vitro increased [125I]PDGF-AA binding 3-, 6-, 6-, and 20-fold, respectively. These increases correlated with increased PDGF-R alpha mRNA and protein expression as shown by northern and western assays. PDGF-AB and -BB-stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation by fibroblasts was enhanced 5-, 5-, 10-, and 20-fold by pretreatment with MOCM from unstimulated, TiO2-, asbestos-, and ROFA-exposed macrophages, respectively. [125I]PDGF-AA binding experiments using the IL-1 receptor antagonist blocked the upregulatory effect of all MOCM samples. Latent TGF-beta1 present in MOCM was activated by acid treatment, inhibiting upregulation by approximately 60%, a result similar to experiments with IL-1beta and TGF-beta1 mixtures. Treatment with a TGF-beta neutralizing antibody restored full upregulatory activity to acidified MOCM. Thus activated macrophages increase lung fibroblast PDGF-R alpha primarily due to the secretion of IL-1beta. Intratracheal instillation of ROFA particles in rats induced a 2-fold increase in total lung PDGF-R alpha mRNA in vivo. These findings support the idea that macrophage-derived IL-1beta plays a key role in the initiation of a fibrotic response by increasing fibroblast PDGF-R alpha expression, thereby dramatically potentiating the mitogenic response to PDGF.

Fibroblasts are the primary proliferating cell type in pulmonary fibrosis. We previously showed that inorganic, fibrogenic particles alter the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor system on rat lung fibroblasts (Bonner, J. C., et al. 1993, J. Clin. Invest 92:425-430). In lung fibroblasts, PDGF is the most potent proliferative cytokine, and the responses to PDGF isoforms depend on the relative amounts of two PDGF receptors (PDGF-R alpha and PDGF-R beta). Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) production by lung macrophages is increased following exposure to fibrogenic particles. We have examined the role of IL-1 beta in regulating the lung fibroblast PDGF receptor system. IL-1 beta induced a 10-fold increase in the number of binding sites for [125I]PDGF-AA, caused a 2-fold increase in affinity of [125I]PDGF-AB, but it had no effect on [125I]PDGF-BB binding. PDGF-R alpha gene expression was increased 5-fold after 4 h of IL-1 beta treatment. IL-1 beta increased the proliferative and chemotactic response to PDGF isoforms in the following order of potency: AA> AB > BB. IL-1 beta was tested for its ability to cause increased [125I]PDGF-AA binding when complexed to its binding protein, alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M). IL-1 beta bound covalently to fast methyl-amine-activated alpha 2M (alpha 2M-MA). IL-1 beta-alpha 2M-MA or alpha 2M-MA alone possessed minimal activity for inducing an increase in [125I]PDGF-AA binding. However, treatment of the IL-1 beta-alpha 2M complex with thioredoxin, which released bioactive IL-1 beta that was covalently bound to alpha 2M, maximally increased [125I]PDGF-AA binding to the same extent as free IL-1 beta. These results indicate that the fibroblast response to PDGF isoforms is modulated by a complex interaction involving IL-1 beta, alpha 2M, and thioredoxin, all of which are produced in vivo by activated macrophages.

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