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Dietary probiotics supplementation exerts beneficial health effects. Since cigarette smoking reduces natural killer (NK) activity, we evaluated the effect of Lactobacillus casei Shirota (LcS) intake on NK cytotoxic activity in male smokers. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised study was conducted on seventy-two healthy Italian blue-collar male smokers randomly divided for daily intake of LcS powder or placebo. Before and after 3 weeks of intake, peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and NK activity and CD16 þ cells' number were assessed. Daily LcS intake for 3 weeks significantly increased NK activity (P,0·001). The increase in NK activity was paralleled by an increase in CD16 þ cells (P,0·001). Before intake, NK cytotoxic activity inversely correlated with the number of cigarettes smoked (R 20·064). LcS intake prevented the smoke-dependent expected NK activity reduction. The analysis of the distribution of changes in smoke-adjusted NK activity demonstrated that the positive variations were significantly associated with LcS intake, while the negative variations were associated with placebo intake (median value of distributions of differences, 20·98 lytic unit (LU)/10 7 cells for LcS v. 24·38 LU/10 7 cells for placebo, P¼ 0·039). In conclusion, 3 weeks of daily LcS intake in Italian male smokers was associated with a higher increase in cytotoxic activity and CD16 þ cells' number in comparison to the placebo intake group.

Previous human studies demonstrated that lead exposure may modify the metabolism of catecholamines and of hormones controlled by the hypothalamo-pituitary axis and may affect the kallikrein-kinin system. This paper reports unpublished data on the plasma renin activity of lead-exposed workers; these results are in agreement with those of previous human and experimental studies suggesting that the synthesis or release of renin is increased after short and moderate exposure to inorganic lead and reduced whenever the exposure is prolonged. Previous experimental investigations demonstrated that lead may act on the cardiovascular system, with effects on the renin-angiotensin system, on the reactivity to stimulation of peripheral catecholaminergic receptors, on sympathetic and vagal tone, and on reactivity to the stimulation of baroreceptors. This paper reports the results of a study on male Sprague-Dawley rats that received 0, 15, 30, and 60 micrograms/mL of lead in drinking water for 18 months. Blood pressure was increased in the rats receiving 30 and 60 ppm of lead; cardiac inotropism was augmented only in those receiving the higher dose of the metal, and heart rate was not modified. Cardiovascular responses to agonists indicated that lead exposure affects the renin-angiotensin system and induces sympathetic hyperactivity by acting on central and peripheral sympathetic junctions increasing the responsiveness to stimulation of alpha 2-adrenoreceptors and by increasing the reactivity to stimulation of cardiac and vascular beta-adrenergic and dopaminergic receptors. The cAMP-dependent availability of Ca2+ for contractile mechanisms of the cardiovascular muscle cells was affected by lead.

This study investigates lymphocyte subsets in both the gastrointestinal mucosa and blood, in patients with nickel allergic contact dermatitis, after 10 mg oral nickel challenge (double-blind, placebo-controlled). 6 such patients with cutaneous symptoms induced only by skin contact with nickel (group A), 6 with a flare-up of cutaneous symptoms after food nickel ingestion (group B) and 6 healthy controls (group C) were enrolled. Blood lymphocyte subsets (CD4, CD45RO, CD8) were analyzed before and after 4 and 24 h from the challenge (test 1, 2, and 3), and intestinal biopsies were performed 2 days later. Challenges were positive in group B and negative in group A and controls. Serum and urine nickel levels significantly increased after nickel ingestion, with no differences between the 3 groups. At test 3, a significant decrease of the all CDs studied was found in group B. Biopsies of this group showed higher levels of CD45RO+ cells in the lamina propria and in the epithelium and lower levels of epithelial CD8+ lymphocytes. This study confirms that ingested nickel may induce flare-up of cutaneous reactions in some nickel-allergic patients, independently of the degree of sensitization and the intake of metal. In these patients, oral nickel stimulates the immune system, inducing maturation of T lymphocytes from virgin into memory cells; these latter cells seem to accumulate in the intestinal mucosa. The immunoreaction also involves CD8+ cells, whose role is not yet clear.

Palladium ions and nanoparticles exert different effects in vitro on the expression and release of cytokines.

Not only anxiety and depression but also high levels of job strain and/or insecurity may affect the health status by reducing blood NK activity.