Lung health among boilermakers in Edmonton, Alberta

Hessel, Patrick A.; Melenka, Lyle; Michaelchuk, Dennis; Herbert, F. A.; Cowie, Robert L.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199810)34:4<381::aid-ajim12>3.3.co;2-w

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…First, certain occupations, such as boilermakers, are exposed to fuel oil ash that contains a high concentration of vanadium (up to 30 µg/m 3 ) for many hours a day during a boiler overhaul (Hauser et al 1995Woodin et al 1999Woodin et al , 2000. Inhalation of vanadium in this situation has been associated with not only airway inflammation and constriction (Hauser et al 1995(Hauser et al , 2001Hessel et al 1998;Woodin et al 1998Woodin et al , 2000 but also cardiovascular effects measured as increased heart rate variability (Magari et al 2002). Vanadium contained in vanadium-rich residual oil fly ash given intratracheally can gain access into the pulmonary circulation (Huang et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vanadyl sulfate inhibits NO production via threonine phosphorylation of eNOS.

Carter

Dailey

et al. 2004

Environ Health Perspect

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Exposure to excessive vanadium occurs in some occupations and with consumption of some dietary regimens for weight reduction and body building. Because vanadium is vasoactive, individuals exposed to excessive vanadium may develop adverse vascular effects. We have previously shown that vanadyl sulfate causes acute pulmonary vasoconstriction, which could be attributed in part to inhibition of nitric oxide production. In the present study we investigated whether NO inhibition was related to phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). VOSO 4 produced dose-dependent constriction of pulmonary arteries in isolated perfused lungs and pulmonary arterial rings and a right shift of the acetylcholine-dependent vasorelaxation curve. VOSO 4 inhibited constitutive as well as A23187-stimulated NO production. Constitutive NO inhibition was accompanied by increased Thr 495 (threonine at codon 495) phosphorylation of eNOS, which would inhibit eNOS activity. Thr 495 phosphorylation of eNOS and inhibition of NO were partially reversed by pretreatment with calphostin C, a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. There were no changes in Ser 1177 (serine at codon 1177) or tyrosine phosphorylation of eNOS. These results indicate that VOSO 4 induced acute pulmonary vasoconstriction that was mediated in part by the inhibition of endothelial NO production via PKC-dependent phosphorylation of Thr 495 of eNOS. Exposure to excessive vanadium may contribute to pulmonary vascular diseases.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vanadyl sulfate inhibits NO production via threonine phosphorylation of eNOS.

Carter

Dailey

et al. 2004

Environ Health Perspect

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“…The effect of air pollutants produced by welding processes on the health of laborers, specifically welders, is a major concern of occupational medicine. − In addition to work-related injuries, welders often suffer from acute and chronic occupational diseases such as hepatitis, dermatitis, neuropathy, and encephalopathy and are often associated with respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and pneumonia after long-term exposure. − Welders are also associated with an increased risk for lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, and, potentially, leukemia. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metabolomic Characterization of Laborers Exposed to Welding Fumes

Kuo

Wang

Tian

et al. 2012

Chem. Res. Toxicol.

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The complex composition of welding fumes, multiplicity of molecular targets, diverse cellular effects, and lifestyles associated with laborers vastly complicate the assessment of welding fume exposure. The urinary metabolomic profiles of 35 male welders and 16 male office workers at a Taiwanese shipyard were characterized via (1)H NMR spectroscopy and pattern recognition methods. Blood samples for the same 51 individuals were also collected, and the expression levels of the cytokines and other inflammatory markers were examined. This study dichotomized the welding exposure variable into high (welders) versus low (office workers) exposures to examine the differences of continuous outcome markers-metabolites and inflammatory markers-between the two groups. Fume particle assessments showed that welders were exposed to different concentrations of chromium, nickel, and manganese particles. Multivariate statistical analysis of urinary metabolomic patterns showed higher levels of glycine, taurine, betaine/TMAO, serine, S-sulfocysteine, hippurate, gluconate, creatinine, and acetone and lower levels of creatine among welders, while only TNF-α was significantly associated with welding fume exposure among all cytokines and other inflammatory markers measured. Of the identified metabolites, the higher levels of glycine, taurine, and betaine among welders were suspected to play some roles in modulating inflammatory and oxidative tissue injury processes. In this metabolomics experiment, we also discovered that the association of the identified metabolites with welding exposure was confounded by smoking, but not with drinking, which is a finding consistent with known modified response of inflammatory markers among smokers. Our results correspond with prior studies that utilized nonmetabolomic analytical techniques and suggest that the metabolomic profiling is an efficient method to characterize the overall effect of welding fume exposure and other confounders.

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“…In a recent cross-sectional study by Hessel et al [Hessel et al, 1998] on 102 actively employed boilermakers with 20 or more years of union membership, they reported that boilermakers had more symptoms than telephone workers (comparison subjects), but lung function did not differ. They found that exposure (as a boilermaker) to fumes in the gas and oil industry were signi®cantly associated with usual cough, wheeze in the absence of a cold, chest tightness, attacks of wheeze, and pneumonia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%