Two Weeks of Permanence in Negatively-Charged Air Conditions Causes Alteration of Natural Killer Cell Function

Abstract

The effects of negatively-charged air conditions were analyzed as one of the approaches to improve health and quality of life. We previously reported that the use of a charcoal coating and application of an electric voltage yielded predominantly negatively-charged particles in an experimental room, and that 2.5 hours of living in these conditions caused a slight activation of the immune system (slight elevation of serum interleukin (IL)-2), regulated blood flow, and stabilized the autonomic nervous system when compared with control conditions (no dominance of negatively-charged particles). In this study, we expanded the previous study and placed 15 subjects in negatively-charged air conditions for two weeks during the night and analyzed various biological parameters. Although individual biological reactions differed from subject to subject, natural killer (NK) cell activity increased significantly following living in negatively-charged air conditions. Taken together, the results of the previous investigation and those ofthis study show that repeated elevation ofIL-2 (although it immediately returned to the baseline level) causes chronic and recurrent stimulation to NK cells and results in the steady activation of NK cells. Negatively-charged air particles may be a good tool to improve health and quality of life.The health effects of indoor-air have recently received attention, and some of the adverse effects of indoor-air include sick-building syndrome (SBS) (1-4) and multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome (MCS) (5-8). These diseases are mainly caused by indoor-air aldehydes and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that affect the human psycho-neuro-endocrineimmune (PNEI) network (9-13). The concept of the PNEI network (PNEI-NW) has evolved in the past few decades and is thought to include a close relationship between immunoregulation and brain functions. Particular emphasis is given to circuits involving immune cell products, the hypothalamuspituitary-adrenal axis, and the sympathetic nervous system (9-13). There is increasing evidence that brain cytokines play an important role in brain

Environmental factors and human health: fibrous and particulate substance-induced immunological disorders and construction of a health-promoting living environment

“…As a consequence, experiments involving a 2-week night stay were performed as the next step [60,62]. Fifteen HV were recruited and received 3 months of on-the-job training at the Comprehensive Housing R&D Institute of Sekisui House Co. Ltd.…”

“…After spending 2 weeks in control rooms, they again moved to rooms with the NCPDIAC without notification. Biological monitoring was then performed before and after entering both control and experimental rooms [60,62]. The parameters monitored were similar to those used in the initial short-term experiments in addition to other parameters such as NK cell activity and urine 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine corrected by urine creatinine concentration because these may be altered after a 2-week stay, and not a 2.5-h stay.…”

“…The parameters monitored were similar to those used in the initial short-term experiments in addition to other parameters such as NK cell activity and urine 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine corrected by urine creatinine concentration because these may be altered after a 2-week stay, and not a 2.5-h stay. NCPDIAC was utilized in experiments and differences between negatively and positively charged particles were approximately 500 particles/m 3 [60,62]. Although changes of parameters in individual subjects varied, results revealed that the only parameter that showed a significant change was NK cell activity.…”

“…3c). This suggested that the recurrent slight elevation of IL-2 as found in short-stay experiments during the 2-week night stay induced activation of NK cells [60,62]. An in vitro assay was then performed.…”

“…3 [60][61][62][63][64] indicate that the NCPDIAC device caused activation of NK activity and stimulated immune status, and, therefore, could be set in the home or office buildings to potentially improve the health of occupants.…”