Studies on the aetiology of byssinosis

Abstract

(1971). Brit. J. industr. Med., 28,[143][144][145][146][147][148][149][150][151]. Studies on the aetiology of byssinosis. A condensed polyphenol based on leucocyanidin has been extracted from the cotton plant. The reaction between this material and human serum has been demonstrated using both a precipitin and a passive agglutination technique. Sera from 196 cardroom workers not suffering from byssinosis, 177 byssinotic cardroom workers, and 203 controls were tested for reactivity with the condensed polyphenol using the passive agglutination technique. Significant differences in mean titres were obtained between cardroom workers and controls and between byssinotic and non-byssinotic cardroom workers. It was shown that while the mean titre in non-byssinotic cardroom workers remains relatively constant with respect to duration of employment, the titre in those cardroom workers suffering from byssinosis shows a progressive rise with duration of cardroom exposure.Inhalation of solutions of the condensed polyphenol by normal control subjects and by non-byssinotic cardroom workers produced neither symptoms nor changes in FEV1.0 or FVC. On the other hand, inhalation of the material by byssinotic cardroom workers induced symptoms identical with those experienced on exposure in the cardroom on Mondays. Because of the subjective nature of byssinosis, this inhalational study was repeated as a double-blind trial which completely confirmed the above observations.The object of this investigation was to follow up the observations of Massoud and Taylor (1964) that cardroom workers suffering from byssinosis have higher titres of antibody directed against an antigen present in the cotton plant than non-byssinotic cardroom workers who in turn have higher titres than the general population. Massoud and Taylor presented an hypothesis which attempts to explain these findings, and which suggests that the symptoms of byssinosis are produced by an intrapulmonary antigen-antibody reaction involving this antigen-antibody system. In order to explain the findings of antibody in normal

Cotton dust-mediated lung epithelial injury.

“…After PVP treatment, all three extracts produced minimal pneumocyte injury, suggesting that tannins may be Edwards has shown that THF is capable of producing lung inflammation (8). Further evidence suggesting a role for THF is presented by Taylor and co-workers (35) who showed, in a double-blind trial, that inhalation of THF at a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml for 15 min produced symptoms of byssinosis in five of six byssinotic patients, but produced no symptoms in nine cotton workers without byssinosis or eleven unexposed controls. In our studies, the injury produced by THF was predominantly THF inhaled in the workplace (37).…”

Immunological Reactions to Inhaled Physical and Chemical Agents

“…The reactive constituent was identified as a condensed polyphenol, leucocyanidin (133), and, although the substance has since been shown to precipitate immunoglobulins nonspecifically (40), hence not a true antigen, double-blind inhalation studies indicated that byssinotic symptoms were produced only in byssinotic subjects (133). Whether true circulating antibodies to cotton antigens exist in addition to this phenomenon has not been established.…”

Studies on the Antigenic Composition of Aqueous Cotton Dust Extracts

“…Previous immunologic studies were hampered by inability to demonstrate dust-specific precipitating antibodies in the serum of exposed individuals [9,11,15], and by lack of response in laboratory animals in jected with cotton dust extracts [6,9], In this study we report a specific antibody response in rabbits to aque ous cotton dust extracts (ACDE), and partial charac terization of antigenic and allergenic components in these extracts by crossed immunoelectrophoretic and crossed radioimmunoelectrophoretic techniques.…”