Effects of Formaldehyde on Lymphocyte Subsets and Cytokines in the Peripheral Blood of Exposed Workers

Abstract

Formaldehyde (FA) is a well-known irritant, and it is suggested to increase the risk of immune diseases and cancer. The present study aimed to evaluate the distribution of major lymphocyte subsets and cytokine expression profiles in the peripheral blood of FA-exposed workers. A total of 118 FA-exposed workers and 79 controls were enrolled in the study. High performance liquid chromatography, flow cytometry, and cytometric bead array were used to analyze FA in air sample and formic acid in urine, blood lymphocyte subpopulations, and serum cytokines, respectively. The FA-exposed workers were divided into low and high exposure groups according to their exposure levels. The results showed that both the low and high FA-exposed groups had a significant increase of formic acid in urine when compared to the controls. Both the low and high exposure groups had a significant increase in the percentage of B cells (CD19+) compared to the control group (p<0.01). A significant increase in the percentage of the natural killer (NK) cells (CD56+) was observed in the low exposure group compared to the control (p = 0.013). Moreover, the FA-exposed workers in both exposure groups showed a significant higher level of IL-10 but lower level of IL-8 than the control (p<0.01). Subjects in the high exposure group had a higher level of IL-4 but a lower level of IFN-γ than the control (p<0.05). Finally, there is a significant correlation between the levels of IL-10, IL-4, and IL-8 and formic acid (p<0.05). The findings from the present study may explain, at least in part, the association between FA exposure and immune diseases and cancer.

Occupational Exposure and Health Impairments of Formaldehyde on Employees of a Wood Industry

“…The finding is in agreement with previous findings. 33 The exposure to the formaldehyde significantly ( P =0.0016) reduced the number of WBC of Chinese workers 34 which contradicts with the results of the present study. In order to eliminate possible confounding factors, 8 cases of confounding variables were excluded from the analysis.…”

Comparison of hematological alterations and markers of B-cell activation in workers exposed to benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene

“…The hematotoxicity of these chemicals, particularly for benzene and FA, has been investigated in other study populations. For FA, several studies in China have observed lower WBC counts in workers exposed to FA levels as low as 0.02-0.04 mg/m 3 (35), and significant alterations in platelets and lymphocyte subsets have also been reported in FA exposed workers although these findings have been less consistent (35)(36)(37)(38). The hematotoxicity of benzene exposure has been well-described as chronic exposure is associated with the development of various blood dyscrasias including aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, even at relatively low levels of exposure (39).…”

The effect of graphite composition on polyaniline film performance for formalin gas sensor

“…The a temperature of 5 o C, this is because that the aniline polymerization process was an exothermic reaction, so a cold medium was needed to make slow polymeric structure [10]. This method can be done on a large scale with the results of PANI easily separated so that it was more flexible to use in the process of modification and application [11]. Subsequently, PANI-ES was carried out by developing using an ammonium base to obtain PANI-EB.…”

“…It is known that graphite promotes a better configuration for sensor devices, especially polyaniline [11]. The reason for achieving better results using graphite is related to improvements in the transfer of charge between polymers, graphite, and electrodes [1,4].…”