Exposures to occupationally relevant ultrafine, zinc- and copper-containing welding fumes cause inflammatory responses involving systemic IL-6, C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA), all associated with elevated risk of cardiovascular events. We investigated whether the systemic response is preceded by nasal inflammatory reactions. Fifteen nonsmoking male subjects were exposed for 6 h under controlled conditions to zinc-/copper-containing welding fumes (at 2.5 mg/m³) or ambient air control in a randomized order. Nasal secretions were collected before and at 1, 3, 6, 10, and 29 h after exposure. Nasal levels of selected biomarkers were determined by electrochemiluminescent assays and related to their systemic levels. Nasal interferon-γ (IFN-γ) peaked significantly 1 h after start of exposure compared to baseline. Nasal CRP as well as SAA increased significantly at 10 and 29 h compared to baseline. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for differentiating welding fume from control exposure was performed: The highest area under ROC curve (AUC) values were found for the CRP increases (10, 29 h versus 0 h): AUC = 0.83, and for IFN-γ increases (1 h versus 0 h): AUC = 0.92. Nasal and systemic changes of CRP at 29 h revealed a strong correlation (Spearman rank test: increases compared to baseline: r = 0.815, p = 0.0022; absolute levels: r = 0.9, p = 0.0002). In conclusion, short-term exposure to a zinc- and copper-containing welding fume causes significant increases of inflammatory mediators in nasal mucosal lining fluid. Therefore, measurement of nasal inflammatory mediators may provide a useful means for occupational surveillance of workers exposed to ultrafine metal fume particles.

中文翻译：

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吸入超细焊接烟尘后人鼻黏膜C反应蛋白应答：与全身C反应蛋白应答呈正相关

接触与职业有关的含锌和铜的超细焊接烟雾会引起炎症反应，涉及全身性IL-6，C反应蛋白（CRP）和血清淀粉样蛋白A（SAA），所有这些都与心血管事件的风险升高相关。我们调查了全身反应是否先于鼻炎反应。15名非吸烟男性受试者在受控条件下暴露于含锌/铜的焊接烟气中（2.5 mg / m ³达6小时）。）或以随机顺序进行环境空气控制。在暴露前，暴露后1、3、6、10和29小时收集鼻分泌物。所选生物标记物的鼻腔水平通过电化学发光测定法确定，并与它们的全身水平有关。与基线相比，暴露开始后1 h鼻干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）明显达到峰值。与基线相比，鼻CRP和SAA在10和29 h显着增加。进行接收器工作特性（ROC）曲线分析，以区分焊接烟雾与对照暴露：CRP增加（10、29小时与0小时）发现ROC曲线下最大面积（AUC）值：AUC = 0.83，对于IFN-γ增加（1小时对0小时）：AUC = 0.92。29小时时CRP的鼻腔和全身变化显示出很强的相关性（Spearman等级检验：与基线相比增加：r  = 0.815，p  = 0.0022；绝对水平：r  = 0.9，p  = 0.0002）。总之，短期暴露于含锌和铜的焊接烟雾中会导致鼻粘膜衬里液中炎症介质的显着增加。因此，鼻炎性介质的测量可为暴露于超细金属烟尘颗粒的工人的职业监测提供有用的手段。