In:
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), Vol. 21, No. 11_Supplement ( 2012-11-01), p. 44-44
Abstract:
Trichloroethylene (TCE), a common occupational solvent and groundwater contaminant, has been associated with a variety of immunotoxic effects and may be associated with an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Altered serum immunoglobulin levels have been reported in NHL patients and in animals exposed to TCE. Recently, we reported that occupational exposure to TCE is associated with immunosuppressive effects and immune dysfunction, including suppression of B cell counts and activation, even at relatively low levels. We hypothesized that TCE exposure would also affect immunoglobulin levels in humans. We measured serum levels of IgG, IgM, and IgE, by ELISA, in TCE-exposed workers (n=80) and unexposed controls (n=45), matched by age and gender, in a cross-sectional, molecular epidemiology study of occupational exposure to TCE in Guangdong, China. Personal exposure measurements were taken using 3 M organic vapor monitoring badges over a three-week period before blood collection. Workers exposed to TCE had about a 17.5% decline in serum levels of IgG compared to unexposed controls (p for exposed vs. unexposed = 0.0002). Similarly, serum levels of IgM were reduced by about 38% in workers exposed to TCE (p for exposed vs. unexposed & lt; 0.0001). Serum levels of both IgG and IgM were significantly decreased in workers exposed to & lt; 12 ppm of TCE, the median exposure level. Adjustment for B cell counts and other potential confounders had minimal impact on our findings. IgE levels were not significantly different between exposed and control subjects. These results are consistent with in vivo observations and provide further evidence that TCE is immunotoxic at relatively low exposure levels, and provide additional biologic plausibility to the reported association of TCE with NHL. Citation Format: Luoping Zhang, Bryan Bassig, Joseph L. Mora, Roel Vermeulen, Yichen Ge, John D. Curry, Wei Hu, Min Shen, Chuangyi Qiu, Zhiying Ji, Boris Reiss, Cliona McHale, Songwang Liu, Weihong Guo, Mark Purdue, Fei Yue, Laiyu Li, Martyn T. Smith, Hanlin Huang, Xiaojiang Tang, Nathaniel Rothman, Qing Lan. Alterations in serum immunoglobulin levels in workers occupationally exposed to trichloroethylene. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Post-GWAS Horizons in Molecular Epidemiology: Digging Deeper into the Environment; 2012 Nov 11-14; Hollywood, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(11 Suppl):Abstract nr 44.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1055-9965
,
1538-7755
DOI:
10.1158/1055-9965.GWAS-44
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Publication Date:
2012
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2036781-8
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1153420-5