IgE-mediated sensitisation, rhinitis and asthma from occupational exposures. Smoking as a model for airborne adjuvants?
OBJECTIVE
Airborne pollutants with adjuvant effect, called airborne adjuvants, may promote IgE-sensitisation and development of allergic airway diseases. Smoking and occupational allergen exposures were reviewed to establish a general and verified framework for hazard identification and risk assessment of adjuvant effects of airborne pollutions.


METHODS
The relative risks and the attributable risks of adjuvant effect of smoking were determined for co-exposures with green coffee and castor beans, ispaghula, senna, psyllium, flour and grain dust, latex, laboratory animals, seafood, enzymes, platinum salts, organic anhydrides, or reactive dyes.


RESULTS
Adjuvant effects of smoking depended on the types of allergen, but not on whether sensitisation or allergy was promoted by atopy-the hereditarily increased ability to increase IgE formation.


CONCLUSIONS
Promotion of IgE sensitisation in humans and in animals may serve for hazard identification of adjuvant effects. Risk assessment has been based mainly on epidemiological studies, which are sensitive to confounding factors. This highlights the need to develop appropriate animal models for risk assessment.
Nielsen
Gunnar D
GD
National Institute of Occupational Health Denmark, Lersø Parkallé 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. gdn@ami.dk
Olsen
Ole
O
Larsen
Søren T
ST
Løvik
Martinus
M
Poulsen
Lars K
LK
Glue
Christian
C
Brandorff
Nanna P
NP
Nielsen
Pia J
PJ
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000276:immunology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology*
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D007073:Immunoglobulin E