Serum immunoglobulin levels and humoral immune competence in coalworkers

Abstract

Serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels were measured in 788 coalworkers and 121 nonmining controls for comparison with the radiological category of pneumoconiosis after taking into account age and smoking habit. In addition a simple assessment of humoral immune competence was made by estimating the titre of serum antibody against the common gut commensal Escherichia coli. Smoking was found to depress serum IgA and IgM whilst levels of IgG and IgA increased slightly with age. Men with radiological signs of coalworkers pneumoconiosis (CWP) had significantly raised levels of IgA and IgG with increasing pneumoconiosis category. Even coalworkers with less than category 1 simple pneumoconiosis had raised levels of IgA, suggesting that increased production of this immunoglobulin occurs before radiologically identifiable pathological changes have occurred in the lung tissue. No association between reduced humoral immune competence and radiological category of pneumoconiosis was found. Whether high Ig levels in men exposed to coal dust are merely a passive response to dusted lung tissue or whether they indicate that an immunological process is important in the development of pneumoconiotic lesions remains uncertain.

Tobacco and Smoking: Environmental Factors That Modify the Host Response (Immune System) and Have an Impact On Periodontal Health

“…This is a fairly consistent finding in a number of studies performed with human subjects from such diverse locations as the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Australia (Ferson et al, 1979;Gulsvik and Fagerhol, 1979;Anderson et al, 1982;Hersey et al, 1983;Robertson et al, 1984;McSharry et al, 1985;Quinn et al, 1996). The overall decrease in serum IgG in smokers has also been noted in epidemiological studies of people receiving the hepatitis B vaccine.…”

“…While some reports suggest that smoking suppresses serum levels of IgM and IgA (Gulsvik and Fagerhol, 1979;Hersey et al, 1983;Robertson et al, 1984), others indicate that one or another of these isotypes is not affected by smoking (Ferson et al, 1979;Anderson et al, 1982;McSharry et al, 1985). The effects of smoking on serum IgE and allergy are discussed in another section of this review.…”

“…Numerous reports indicate that the frequency of response to the vaccine is lower in smokers compared with non-smokers, and that seroconversion occurs more rapidly in non-smokers (Struve et al, 1992;Roome et al, 1993). The levels of IgG in serum tend to increase when subjects stop smoking (Gulsvik and Fagerhol, 1979;Hersey et al, 1983;Robertson et al, 1984;McSharry et al, 1985).…”

Smoking and Periodontal Disease

“…This may eventually lead to a reduction in the humoral immune response to invading organisms. Smoking has been shown to reduce the concentration of serum IgG generally (Ferson et al, 1979;Gulsvik and Fagerhol, 1979;Anderson et al, 1982;Hersey et al, 1983;Robertson et al, 1984;McSharry et al, 1985). Interestingly, seroconversion following hepatitis B vaccine occurs much more slowly in smokers than in non-smokers, and the frequency of subjects undergoing an immune response is lower for smokers (Struve et al, 1992;Roome et al, 1993).…”

Prevalence and pathogenesis of pneumoconiosis in coal workers.

“…Elevation of IgG and IgA levels occurred in simple and complicated disease but was subject to unexplained variations, and humoral competence was unaffected (52,53). Antibody levels possessed no predictive value in the genesis of massive fibrosis (54).…”