Welding Fume Instillation in Isolated Perfused Mouse Lungs—Effects of Zinc- and Copper-Containing Welding Fumes

Abstract

Zinc- and copper-containing welding fumes can cause systemic inflammation after exposure in humans. Recent ex vivo studies have shown that the observed inflammation originates from exposed immune cells. In vitro studies identified the soluble fraction of metal particles as the main effectors. Isolated perfused mouse lungs (IPLs) were perfused and ventilated for 270 min. Lungs were instilled with saline solution (control), welding fume particle suspension (WFs) or the soluble fraction of the welding fumes (SF-WFs). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and perfusate samples were analyzed for cytokine levels and lung tissue mRNA expression levels were analyzed via RT-PCR. All lungs instilled with WFs did not complete the experiments due to a fatal reduction in tidal volume. Accordingly, IL-6 and MPO levels were significantly higher in BALF of WF lungs compared to the control. IL-6 and MPO mRNA expression levels were also increased for WFs. Lungs instilled with SF-WFs only showed mild reactions in tidal volume, with BALF and mRNA expression levels not significantly differing from the control. Zinc- and copper-containing welding fume particles adversely affect IPLs when instilled, as evidenced by the fatal loss in tidal volume and increased cytokine expression and secretion. The effects are mainly caused by the particles, not by the soluble fraction.

Immune response to zinc oxide inhalation in metal fume fever, and the possible role of IL-17f

“…Our study marks the first in international literature to investigate MFF involving mediastinal lymph node samples. Contrary to the prevalent focus on lungs in MFF pathomechanism, our results, alongside previous hypotheses, suggest the involvement of blood in this process 42,43 . Evaluating the detectability of target mRNAs in both lung-only and pooled lung + mediastinal lymph node samples revealed higher detection of inflammationrelated gene mRNA in the pooled samples (Figure S3, Additional information).…”

Immune Response to Zinc Oxide Inhalation in Metal Fume Fever – Is the IL-17f the missing link?

“…Based on international scienti c literature, this report presents the rst investigation of MFF involving samples of mediastinal lymph nodes. Our results suggest that the pathomechanism of MFF does not primarily involve the lungs, which was also proposed in a previous report that hypothesized the role of blood in the procedure 43,44 . Alveolar macrophages collect exogenous particles from the alveoli and migrate to local lymph nodes to transfer immunological information to lymphocytes and initiate an immune response if necessary.…”