Introduction

Occupational exposure to Cadmium (Cd) may have serious health effect on workers. However, little is known about its effect on immune system. Moreover, previous studies have been inconclusive in stating the effect of Cd on immune system. The aim of our study was to estimate immune parameters in workers occupationally exposed to Cd.

Material and methods

110 individuals occupationally exposed to Cd and 97 apparently healthy non-exposed individuals were recruited for this study. Blood Cadmium levels were determined by AAS. Lymphocyte subset were analyzed using flow cytometry and the cytokine levels were determined by ELISA.

Results

Exposed group have significantly higher levels of B-Cd. % of CD8 cells were higher in exposed while % of CD4 cells showed a decreasing trend in the exposed group. Among the CD3CD4 T cell subsets Th1 (%) and Tregs (%) cells were lower while Th17 (%) were higher in exposed group. Increased levels of IL-4 (Th2), IL-6 (Th2) and TNF- α (Th1) and decreased levels of IL-2 (Th1) and IL-10 (Tregs) were observed in Cd exposed workers which is indicative of a predominant pro-inflammatory response in Cd exposed workers. IL-17 (Th17) levels did not show any significant difference between the two groups. Increased Th17/Tregs ratio in the exposed group is also suggestive of an increased pro-inflammatory immune response in exposed group.

Conclusion

To conclude, even low level of exposure to Cd in occupational settings is associated with alterations in Th17 cells, which may further predispose an individual to other systemic abnormalities.

中文翻译：

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镉职业暴露工人淋巴细胞亚群和细胞因子水平的估计

介绍

职业暴露于镉 (Cd) 可能对工人的健康造成严重影响。然而，人们对其对免疫系统的影响知之甚少。此外，先前的研究在说明 Cd 对免疫系统的影响方面尚无定论。我们研究的目的是估计职业暴露于 Cd 的工人的免疫参数。

材料与方法

本研究招募了 110 名职业暴露于 Cd 的人和 97 名明显健康的非暴露者。血镉水平由原子吸收光谱法测定。使用流式细胞术分析淋巴细胞亚群，并通过ELISA确定细胞因子水平。

结果

暴露组的 B-Cd 水平明显较高。CD8 细胞的百分比在暴露组中较高，而 CD4 细胞的百分比在暴露组中呈下降趋势。在 CD3 CD4 T 细胞亚群中，Th1 (%) 和 Tregs (%) 细胞较低，而 Th17 (%) 在暴露组中较高。在接触镉的工人中观察到 IL-4 (Th2)、IL-6 (Th2) 和 TNF-α (Th1) 水平升高以及 IL-2 (Th1) 和 IL-10 (Tregs) 水平降低，这表明镉暴露工人的主要促炎反应。IL-17（Th17）水平在两组之间没有显示出任何显着差异。暴露组中增加的 Th17/Tregs 比率也表明暴露组中促炎免疫反应增加。

结论

总而言之，即使在职业环境中接触低水平的 Cd 也与 Th17 细胞的改变有关，这可能进一步使个体易患其他全身性异常。