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Inhalation Toxicology
International Forum for Respiratory Research
Volume 26, 2014 - Issue 1
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Research Article

Host and environmental factors affect pulmonary responses measured in bronchoalveolar lavage

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Pages 30-35 | Received 22 May 2013, Accepted 30 Sep 2013, Published online: 14 Jan 2014
 

Abstract

Context: Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is used to measure pulmonary effects in inhalational exposure studies.

Objectives: To determine how host and background environmental factors may affect pulmonary responses in BAL.

Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed 77 healthy non-smoking volunteers (38 males and 39 females, age 18–35) who participated in a bronchoscopy study to donate cells for in vitro studies. BAL was performed by lavaging one subsegment of both the lingular segment of the left upper lobe and the right middle lobe with 250 ml of sterile normal saline each. We obtained temperature, relative humidity, ambient O3, PM2.5 and PM10 levels from monitor stations in Durham area in North Carolina. We correlated concentrations of leptin, adiponectin, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin (IL)-8, ferritin and total lavaged cells in BAL samples with body mass index (BMI), age, ambient O3, PM2.5, PM10, temperature and relative humidity.

Results: Increased BMI was associated with higher lavage leptin. Males had higher MCP-1 and total lavaged cells than females. Average PM2.5, PM10 and O3 concentrations before bronchoscopy were 13.7 µg/m3, 21.2 µg/m3 and 0.029 ppm, respectively. Using stepwise multiple linear regression, we found positive associations of MCP-1 with BMI, and of total lavaged cells with humidity and O3. There were inverse associations of IL-8 and total lavaged cells with temperature.

Discussion and conclusions: Background environmental and host factors may affect some pulmonary responses to ambient pollutants. Interpretation of pulmonary effects in inhalational exposure studies may need to consider the effects of some host and environmental factors.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Wayne Cornelius in Data Management and Statistical Services Branch of Ambient Monitoring Section in North Carolina Division of Air Quality for assistance in obtaining air pollution data.

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