Respiratory symptoms among crab processing workers in Alaska: Epidemiological and environmental assessment*

Ortega, Héctor; Daroowalla, Feroza; Petsonk, Edward L.; Lewis, Daniel M.; BERARDINELLI, S.P.; Jones, William G.; Kreiss, Kathleen; Weissman, David N.

doi:10.1002/ajim.1059

Cited by 29 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Most studies that have addressed occupational exposure to seafood antigens have mainly concentrated on crustacean (crab and shrimp) and very scantily on fish (salmon, whiff megrim and hake) [10,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. Either pooled human sera from patients known to be allergic to the particular seafood agent or monoclonal antibodies to a major antigen previously identified were used for the detection of antigens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Fish Antigens Aerosolized during Fish Processing Using Newly Developed Immunoassays

Lopata¹,

Jeebhay

Reese

et al. 2005

Int Arch Allergy Immunol

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Background: Aerosolization of fish proteins during seafood processing has been identified as a potential route for allergic sensitization and occupational asthma among workers involved in high-risk activities. The aim of this study was to develop immunological assays for the quantification of aerosolized fish antigens in a fish-processing factory. Methods: Polyclonal antibodies to the main fish species processed in the factory (anchovy and pilchard) were generated in rabbits and compared by ELISA inhibition assay and immunoblotting. These antisera were utilized to develop ELISA assays for the detection of fish antigens. The ELISA inhibition assays were evaluated by analyzing environmental air samples collected from three areas in a fish-processing factory: pilchard canning, fish meal production and lobster processing. Results: By immunoblotting, the rabbit polyclonal antibodies demonstrated IgG antibody binding patterns comparable with IgE antibodies of fish-sensitized patients, particularly in regard to the major fish allergens parvalbumins. The sensitivity of the fish-specific ELISA assays developed was 0.5 µg/ml. The ELISA inhibition assays were able to differentiate between the two different fish species of interest but did not recognize a crustacean species. Notable differences in exposure levels to canned pilchard and anchovy antigens were demonstrated in the three different working areas of the factory, with assays having a detection limit as low as 105 ng/m³. Conclusion: These ELISA-based assays are sensitive and specific to quantify differential exposure levels to fish antigens produced during fish processing, making it possible to investigate exposure-disease response relationships among workers in this industry.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Fish Antigens Aerosolized during Fish Processing Using Newly Developed Immunoassays

Lopata¹,

Jeebhay

Reese

et al. 2005

Int Arch Allergy Immunol

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“…Often rural and remote plants can result in affected workers remaining at their jobs, making it difficult for them to obtain a specific diagnosis and access to workers' compensation. 3 Previous studies have shown the primary source of antigen exposure in seafood processing to be the inhalation of aerosolized proteins ranging in molecular weight from 10 to 70 kd. 7 In the crab industry these aerosols often contain primarily crab exoskeleton, muscle protein, gills, and internal organs with lesser amounts of background material, such as cellulose, synthetic fibers, and inorganic particles.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…2 The cleaning, steaming, washing, sawing, cracking, and crushing of snow crabs within these plants can routinely expose many workers to crab proteins in the form of dust, steam, vapor, and crab meat (CM). 3 These conditions place the plants' usually seasonally employed laborers at risk for occupational IgE-mediated allergic disease. [4][5][6] Respiratory illnesses in these workers negatively affect their quality of life and, for those forced to give up their jobs, imposes economic burdens on them and their families because of limited employment alternatives and infrequent access to health specialty services.…”

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confidence: 99%

Identification of crab proteins that elicit IgE reactivity in snow crab–processing workers

Gill

Rice

Cartier

et al. 2009

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

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“…Several studies report a high incident of occupational asthma in workers processing snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) and king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus), but other symptoms as rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and skin rash are also registered (Orford and Wilson, 1985;Cartier et al, 1986;Ortega et al, 2001;Howse et al, 2006;Gautrin et al, 2009). Although a majority of the literature point to an IgE-mediated mechanism for the development of respiratory disease among crab processing workers, there are reports that fail to show a clear correlation between crab specific IgE and new incidents of asthma-like and bronchitis cases (Ortega et al, 2001). Workers processing saltwater bony fish (sardine (Sardinops sagax) and anchovy (Engraulis capensis)) also appear to be at increased risk for developing work-related upper and lower allergic respiratory outcomes (Jeebhay et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Purified sardine and king crab trypsin display individual differences in PAR-2-, NF-κB-, and IL-8 signaling

Larsen

Seternes

Bang

2011

Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry

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Respiratory symptoms are present in workers processing a great variety of seafood, including the salmon, sardine, and king crab industry. We have previously shown that salmon trypsin is able to generate DNA-binding of NF-κB and induce secretion of IL-8 from airway epithelial cells by activating PAR-2. In this study we explore if purified trypsins from king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) and sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) is able to induce similar effects in cell stimulation assays. Different types of seafood seem to display dissimilar irritant/allergic potencies in human airways and molecular modelling has identified divergent positions in the king crab trypsin compared to salmon trypsin that might influence upon the binding to the N-terminal end of PAR-2, which is a prerequisite for proteolytic activation of the receptor. This knowledge inspired us to investigate if we could detect differences in intracellular signalling pathways coupled to IL-8 in human airway epithelial cells (A549) following stimulation with purified king crab and sardine trypsin. Both sardine and king crab trypsin induce secretion of IL-8 from human airway epithelial cells in a concentration-dependent manner and generate DNA-binding of activated NF-κB. By the use of siRNA we can conclude that these effects are both mediated, at lest partly, through the activation of PAR-2. The king crab and sardine trypsin displays individual differences in transformation of the NF-κB signal, as high enzyme concentrations of king crab trypsin yields high levels of NF-κB that does not translate into increased secretion of IL-8 in the cell stimulation assays. The contribution of MEK/ERK, p38 and NF-κB to the secretion of IL-8 following stimulation with purified sardine and king crab trypsins were explored by the use of specificinhibitors. The results demonstrate that MEK/ERK and NF-κB are both required for purified sardine and king crab trypsin-induced secretion of IL-8 but via separate pathways. P38 was also found to contribute to the secretion of IL-8 by seemingly NF-kB-dependent processes.The data presented indicate that small structural variations in agonists may lead to differences in receptor activation and subsequent intracellular signalling.

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Respiratory symptoms among crab processing workers in Alaska: Epidemiological and environmental assessment*

Abstract: Both personal and process-related factors appear to affect the development of respiratory symptoms in crab processing workers. In this study, crab specific IgE was not detected in most of the workers with new symptoms. Published 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Cited by 29 publications

References 15 publications

Detection of Fish Antigens Aerosolized during Fish Processing Using Newly Developed Immunoassays

Detection of Fish Antigens Aerosolized during Fish Processing Using Newly Developed Immunoassays

Identification of crab proteins that elicit IgE reactivity in snow crab–processing workers

Purified sardine and king crab trypsin display individual differences in PAR-2-, NF-κB-, and IL-8 signaling

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