Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Environ Mol Mutagen. 2013 Jul;54(6):450-4. doi: 10.1002/em.21789. Epub 2013 Jun 25.
To evaluate the immunotoxicity of trichloroethylene (TCE), we conducted a cross-sectional molecular epidemiology study in China of workers exposed to TCE. We measured serum levels of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α, which play a critical role in regulating various components of the immune system, in 71 exposed workers and 78 unexposed control workers. Repeated personal exposure measurements were taken in workers before blood collection using 3 M organic vapor monitoring badges. Compared to unexposed workers, the serum concentration of IL-10 in workers exposed to TCE was decreased by 70% (P = 0.001) after adjusting for potential confounders. Further, the magnitude of decline in IL-10 was >60% and statistically significant in workers exposed to <12 ppm as well as in workers with exposures ≥ 12 ppm of TCE, compared to unexposed workers. No significant differences in levels of IL-6 or TNF-α were observed among workers exposed to TCE compared to unexposed controls. Given that IL-10 plays an important role in immunologic processes, including mediating the Th1/Th2 balance, our findings provide additional evidence that TCE is immunotoxic in humans.
为了评估三氯乙烯（TCE）的免疫毒性，我们在中国进行了一项接触 TCE 的工人的横断面分子流行病学研究。我们测量了 71 名暴露工人和 78 名未暴露对照工人血清中白细胞介素 6（IL-6）、白细胞介素 10（IL-10）和肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）的水平，这些细胞因子在调节免疫系统的各个组成部分方面起着关键作用。在采血前，使用 3M 有机蒸气监测徽章对工人进行了反复的个人暴露测量。与未暴露的工人相比，在调整了潜在混杂因素后，暴露于 TCE 的工人血清中 IL-10 的浓度降低了 70%（P=0.001）。此外，与未暴露的工人相比，暴露于 TCE<12ppm 以及暴露于 TCE≥12ppm 的工人中，IL-10 的下降幅度>60%，且具有统计学意义。与未暴露的对照组相比，暴露于 TCE 的工人血清中 IL-6 或 TNF-α 的水平没有显著差异。鉴于 IL-10 在免疫过程中起着重要作用，包括介导 Th1/Th2 平衡，我们的研究结果提供了更多证据表明 TCE 对人类具有免疫毒性。
