Influences of large sets of environmental exposures on immune responses in healthy adult men

Abstract

Environmental factors have long been known to influence immune responses. In particular, clinical studies about the association between migration and increased risk of atopy/asthma have provided important information on the role of migration associated large sets of environmental exposures in the development of allergic diseases. However, investigations about environmental effects on immune responses are mostly limited in candidate environmental exposures, such as air pollution. The influences of large sets of environmental exposures on immune responses are still largely unknown. A simulated 520-d Mars mission provided an opportunity to investigate this topic. Six healthy males lived in a closed habitat simulating a spacecraft for 520 days. When they exited their “spacecraft” after the mission, the scenario was similar to that of migration, involving exposure to a new set of environmental pollutants and allergens. We measured multiple immune parameters with blood samples at chosen time points after the mission. At the early adaptation stage, highly enhanced cytokine responses were observed upon ex vivo antigen stimulations. For cell population frequencies, we found the subjects displayed increased neutrophils. These results may presumably represent the immune changes occurred in healthy humans when migrating, indicating that large sets of environmental exposures may trigger aberrant immune activity.

The repertoire of maternal anti-viral antibodies in human newborns

“…As described above, non-genetic factors have been shown to have a large influence on the human immune system in adults 69,73,103 . Environmental factors in early life such as mode of delivery, diet, medication, and infections have been increasingly acknowledged as important shapers of the human immune phenotype 104,105 .…”

Effects of isolation and confinement on humans-implications for manned space explorations

“…Confinement simulation under such high-fidelity conditions is not only a platform to test the effects of spaceflight during the mission but also provides excellent conditions to investigate the effects of environmental re-exposition, such as the return to Earth, when landing on another planet or destination in space (65). Moreover, postmission observation periods can include another evaluation of the physiological system and serve as an acute insult to the organism in testing for persisting effects of such prolonged confinement.…”

Extramedullary nasal plasmacytoma arising after polyp excision and the role of the inflammation in tumor development: A case report

“…The nose, paranasal sinus, and oropharynx are commonly exposed to smog that contains small carcinogenic particles (8) and also to recurrent virus infection (e.g., Epstein-Barr), whose role in cancer development has been confirmed (9). Virus and carcinogenic substance hyperstimulate B-cells to react for fighting the host aggression in case of viral infection, or to fight the inflammation in case of smog (18,19). The rapid growth of B-lymphocyte due to recurrent inflammations induces genetic mutations in these hematopoietic cells that can cause tumor formation (20,21).…”