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Workplaces with elevated organic dust levels such as animal feed barns also commonly have elevated levels of gasses, such as CO2. Workers exposed to such complex environments often experience respiratory effects that may be due to a combination of respirable factors. We examined the effects of CO2 on lung innate immune responses in mice co-exposed to the inflammatory agents lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and organic dust. We evaluated CO2 levels at the building recommended limit (1000 ppm) as well as the exposure limit (5000 ppm). Mice were nasally instilled with dust extracts or LPS and immediately put into chambers with a constant flow of room air (avg. 430 ppm CO2), 1000 ppm, or 5000 ppm CO2 enriched air. Results reveal that organic dust exposures tended to show decreased inflammatory responses with 1000 ppm CO2 and increased responses at 5000 ppm CO2. Conversely, LPS with addition of CO2 as low as 1000 ppm tended to inhibit several inflammatory markers. In most cases saline treated animals showed few changes with CO2 exposure, though some changes in mRNA levels were present. This shows that CO2 as low as 1000 ppm CO2 was capable of altering innate immune responses to both LPS and organic dust extracts, but each response was altered in a different fashion.

Background: Glyphosate is an active ingredient in herbicides used in agriculture worldwide. Exposure to glyphosate has been associated with respiratory dysfunctions in agricultural workers. However, the ability of glyphosate to induce inflammation in the lung is not well studied. Therefore, we evaluated lung inflammatory response to glyphosate at agricultural relevant dose for single and repetitive exposures. Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were intranasally exposed to glyphosate (1 μg/40 μl) for 1-day or once daily for 5-days, and 10-days. After the exposure periods, mice were euthanized to collect the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue. Results: Repetitive exposure to glyphosate for 5-days and 10-days showed an increase of neutrophils in BAL fluid and eosinophil peroxidase levels in lungs, a marker for eosinophils. Leukocyte infiltration in lungs was further confirmed through lung histology. Th2 cytokines including IL-5 and IL-13 were increased in BAL fluid after 10-days of glyphosate exposure whereas IL-4 was not increased. Lung sections from all glyphosate groups showed higher expression for ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and vWF adhesion molecules. TLR-4 and TLR-2 expression was increased in lungs after repetitive exposure to glyphosate. Conclusions: We conclude that repetitive exposure to glyphosate induces migration of neutrophils and eosinophils and release of Th2 cytokines. This study, for the first time, provides evidence for the role of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and vWF in lungs of glyphosate-treated animals.

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