CYTOKINE PROFILE IN EMPLOYEES WORKING IN ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY WITH OCCUPATIONAL BRONCHO-PULMONARY PATHOLOGY
The numerous harmful production factors which may exert the injuring effect on the employees’ organism with the following development of occupational diseases are known to present at the aluminium productions in the air of the working zone, especially in the electrolysis shops. The initial development stages of these pathologies are considered as the poorly expressed clinical manifestations. The characteristics of cytokine status and its role in progressing the broncho-pulmonary pathology in the employees of aluminium industry are known to be an actual problem. This study aimed to assess the changes in the contents of the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the employees of aluminium industry with broncho-pulmonary pathology. The study group consisted of 58 males, the employees of the main occupations in aluminium industry – the electrolysists, founders and liners. The control group consisted of 47 conditionally healthy males. The contents of cytokines IL-1β, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α and INF-γ were determined in the blood sera using the method of hard-phasic immunoferment analysis. The significantly high contents of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-8 (5,49 ± 0,83; 27,72 ± 7,05 pg/ml vs 1,15 ± 0,4; 3,01 ± 0,5 pg/ml in control group) were revealed in the employees. The revealed hyperproduction of the cytokines with pro-inflammatory effect may enchance the processes of inflammatory and promote progressing the pathological process in the patients with broncho-pulmonary pathology. At the same time, IL-4 (1,15 ± 0,68 pg/ml vs control 10,0 ± 3,0 pg/ml), the anti-inflammatory cytokine which may take part in limiting the inflammatory response, depress the secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines and regulate the severity of tissue legions, was significantly found to decrease. The studies performed in this direction may allow to define more precisely the immune mechanisms of forming the broncho-pulmonary pathology in the employees of aluminium industry, which would in turn promote performing the optimal therapy and follow-up the progressing disease.