Serum Levels of Interleukin-8 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha in Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis: One-year Follow-up Study

Abstract

ObjectivesVarious cytokines induced by inhalation of coal dust may mediate inflammation and lead to tissue damage or fibrosis, such as coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP).MethodsTo investigate the relevance of serum cytokines in CWP, the levels of serum interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) as CWP biomarkers in 110 retired coal miners (22 controls and 88 CWP subjects) were related to cross sectional findings and 1-year progressive changes of the pneumoconiosis. Progressive changes of CWP were evaluated by paired comparison of chest radiographs. Analysis by a receiver operating characteristic curve assessed the biomarker potential of each cytokine.ResultsThe mean serum IL-8 level was significantly higher in CWP compared to controls and IL-8 levels correlated with the degree of CWP. The median serum TNF-α level was significantly higher in subjects with progressive CWP compared to subjects without CWP progression. The area under the ROC curve for IL-8 (0.70) and TNF-α (0.72) for CWP identification and progression, respectively, indicated the biomarker potential of the two cytokines. Serum cutoff values of IL-8 and TNF-α were 11.63 pg/mL (sensitivity, 69%; specificity, 64%) and 4.52 pg/mL (sensitivity, 67%; specificity, 79%), respectively.ConclusionThe results suggest that high levels of serum IL-8 are associated with the presence of CWP and those of serum TNF-α are associated with the progression of CWP.

Serum levels of TNF-alpha and spirometric parameters in workers exposed to inorganic dust

“…Similar results observed J.S. Lee et al, 2010: average values of TNF-α were significantly higher in subjects with FEV1 <80% compared to those in FEV1> 80% (23). The absence of significant differences in the spirometric parameters may be due to the fact that we studied clinically healthy people without registered respiratory diseases or functional deficits and abnormalities in spirometric testing.…”

“…According to J.S. Lee et al, 2010, considerable release of TNF-α in subjects with the stage 0/1 ILO compared to controls supports the hypothesis for the crucial role of TNF-α in the pathogenesis of coal pneumoconiosis (24). TNF-α has been reported as a biomarker for progressive pneumoconiosis with levels correlating to the severity of the disease (25,26), i.e.…”

Influence of Cytokines and Soluble Receptors in the Quality of Life and Functional Capacity of Workers Exposed to Silica

“…3 This exposure can promote a local and/or systemic inflammatory process, resulting in the production of inflammatory mediators; these mediators have been implicated in the etiology of silicosis, which include interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-6, IL-8, IL-13, IL-18, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, soluble receptors of TNF-a, (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2), CCL-3 and CCL-24. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The diagnosis of silicosis is made by chest radiograph abnormalities that show the typical pattern of nodules and scars, together with the clinical and occupational history of the patient. 11 As silicosis is an irreversible disease, treatments can only relieve symptoms and minimize the decline of lung function.…”

Serum Levels of TGF-β1 and MCP-1 as Biomarkers for Progressive Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis in Retired Coal Workers: A Three-year Follow-up Study

“…Levels of IL-8 were reportedly elevated in the supernatants of spontaneous or dust-stimulated monocytes isolated from peripheral blood and sera from non-progressing CWP patients8 ) . We previously found that serum levels of IL-8 were related to the presence of CWP, but were not related to the progression of CWP6 ) . In the present study, although no difference between study groups was identified, serum IL-8 levels tended to increase in association with CWP progression ( p =0.056) and ILO category (β=0.191, p =0.050).…”

“…Serum cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)6, 7 ) , Interleukin-8 (IL-8)6, 8 ) , transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1)9, 10 ) , and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1)11 ) have been considered as biomarkers for development or progression of CWP. Although evidence obtained from a various studies on the increased production of these cytokines following exposure crystalline silica or coal mine dust in macrophage and fibroblasts, only a limited number of human validation studies were reported in the literature1, 6 ) . These reports suggest the importance of serum cytokines in the CWP, however there are not lots of studied reports about the in vivo relevance of predictive discrimination between the levels of cytokines and progression of CWP.…”