@article{b7c8b5de4b5a491ea62a7379b08dce43,
title = "Tumor necrosis factor-α hyper-responsiveness to endotoxin in whole blood is associated with chronic bronchitis in farmers",
abstract = "Many farmers experience chronic bronchitis, airflow obstruction, and asthma. It is thought that these respiratory problems may be related to workplace inhalation of organic dust containing endotoxin. The purpose of this study was to determine whether whole blood cytokine responsiveness to endotoxin is associated with airflow disorders (i.e., airflow obstruction, chronic bronchitis, and doctor-diagnosed asthma). Farmers (N = 95) were recruited from a rural cohort study and completed a respiratory symptom and history questionnaire, spirometry, and blood sampling. Blood was incubated 24 hours in the presence and absence of endotoxin and supernatants were analyzed for TNF-α, IL-1{\ss}, IL-6, and IL-8. Hypo- or hyper-responsiveness to endotoxin was based on whether cytokine values were in the lower or upper 10% of the group range, respectively. A significant association existed between TNF-α hyper-responsiveness and chronic bronchitis. These results indicate that the whole blood cytokine assay may be useful to identify individual responsiveness to endotoxin, and may provide an additional diagnostic tool to evaluate persons potentially at risk for developing chronic bronchitis following exposure to organic dust in the workplace.",
keywords = "Asthma, Cytokines, Inflammation, Lung",
author = "Lambert, {G. Patrick} and Spurzem, {John R.} and Romberger, {Debra J.} and Wyatt, {Todd A.} and Elizabeth Lyden and Stromquist, {Ann M.} and Merchant, {James A.} and {Von Essen}, {Susanna G.}",
note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the staff of the Keokuk County Rural Health Study Clinic (Sharoll Ed-mundson, Genna Moore, Diane Sertterh, and Ann Yeoman) for outstanding research assistance. The Keokuk County Rural Health Study is supported in part by Grant # U50 OH07548 from CDC/NIOSH to the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health. Excellent technical support from Kevin Kelly at The University of Iowa, Tracy Mathisen and Dr. Joe Sisson at The University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Mihir Joshi at Creighton University was also greatly appreciated. Funding Information: This research was supported (in part) by a pilot project research training grant from the Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety at the University of Iowa to Dr. Lambert. The Heartland Center, an Education and Research Center, is supported by Training Grant No. T42/CCT 717547 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The contents are solely the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.",
year = "2005",
doi = "10.1300/J096v10n01_05",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "10",
pages = "39--44",
journal = "Journal of Agromedicine",
issn = "1059-924X",
publisher = "Taylor and Francis Ltd.",
number = "1",
}