Serum immunoglobulin levels and humoral immune competence in coalworkers

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1984 · Am. J. Ind. Med.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.4700060508· OSTI ID:5693503

Robertson, M D; Boyd, J E; Collins, H P; Davis, J M

Serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels were measured in 788 coalworkers and 121 nonmining controls for comparison with the radiological category of pneumoconiosis after taking into account age and smoking habit. In addition a simple assessment of humoral immune competence was made by estimating the titre of serum antibody against the common gut commensal Escherichia coli. Smoking was found to depress serum IgA and IgM while levels of IgG and IgA increased slightly with age. Men with radiological signs of coalworkers pneumoconiosis (CWP) had significantly raised levels of IgA and IgG with increasing pneumoconiosis category. Even coalworkers with less than category 1 simple pneumoconiosis had raised levels of IgA, suggesting that increased production of this immunoglobulin occurs before radiologically identifiable pathological changes have occurred in the lung tissue. No association between reduced humoral immune competence and radiological category of pneumoconiosis was found. Whether high Ig levels in men exposed to coal dust are merely a passive response to dusted lung tissue or whether they indicate that an immunological process is important in the development of pneumoconiotic lesions remains uncertain.

• Research Organization: Inst. of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh, Scotland
• OSTI ID: 5693503
• Journal Information: Am. J. Ind. Med.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. J. Ind. Med.; (United States) Vol. 6:5; ISSN AJIMD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
016000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Health & Safety
550900 -- Pathology
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AEROSOLS
AGE DEPENDENCE
ANTIBODIES
BACTERIA
BIOSYNTHESIS
BODY
COAL MINERS
COLLOIDS
DISEASES
DISPERSIONS
ESCHERICHIA COLI
GLOBULINS
IMMUNE REACTIONS
IMMUNITY
IMMUNOGLOBULINS
LUNGS
MEASURING METHODS
MICROORGANISMS
MINERS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PATHOGENESIS
PERSONNEL
PNEUMOCONIOSES
PROTEINS
RESIDUES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
SMOKES
SOLS
SYNTHESIS
TOBACCO SMOKES