title: Proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in adolescents from Southeast Bulgarian cities with different levels of air pollution.
abstract: Epidemiological studies demonstrated that the exposure of different air pollutants including particulate matter (PM) has been related to adverse effect on immune system. Current study was designed to investigate cytokines in blood plasma of adolescent persons continuously exposed to different degrees of ambient air pollutions. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-12p40, and IL-10 were chosen as cytokines of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory immune response. The peripheral venous blood was taken from adolescents living in the cities of Stara Zagora region, Southeast Bulgaria, that is, in Stara Zagora, Kazanlak, and Chirpan. The quantity of cytokines in plasma samples was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results demonstrated that youths living in Stara Zagora showed significantly smaller quantity of TNF-α, compared with adolescents from Kazanlak and Chirpan. Moreover, adolescents living in Stara Zagora showed significantly higher quantity of IL-10 than students from Kazanlak and Chirpan. Analysis of the data of air quality gives reason to assert that PM10 and PM2.5 have been the main atmospheric pollutants around the monitoring points. The complex air quality assessment based on these criteria determined that the highest air pollution was in the city of Stara Zagora, followed by Chirpan and the relatively unpolluted town was Kazanlak. We concluded that air pollutants, mostly PM2.5, can modulate cytokine production and can change the balance between proinflammatory TNF-α and anti-inflammatory IL-10 production. Increased levels of IL-10 combined with decreased level of TNF-α in adolescents living in Stara Zagora can serve as a biomarker for suppression of T helper 1 (Th1) cell-mediated immunity and exacerbation of Th2 humoral immune response and could be a prerequisite for the development of allergic and autoimmune diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Immunology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Trakia University, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria zdobreva@mf.uni-sz.bg.
authors.forename: Zlatka Georgieva
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Dobreva
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Ecology and Animal Hygiene, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Gergana Stoianova
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Kostadinova
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Immunology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Trakia University, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Borislav Nikolov
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Popov
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Ecology and Animal Hygiene, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Georgi Stefanov
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Petkov
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Immunology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Trakia University, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Spaska Angelova
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Stanilova
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067697:Adolescent Health; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002031:Bulgaria; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood*; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000819:agonists / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D053762:Interleukin-12 Subunit p40 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018448:Models, Immunological; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000633:toxicity; D058408:Th1-Th2 Balance / Q000187:drug effects; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C508609:IL10 protein, human; C500879:IL12B protein, human; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D053762:Interleukin-12 Subunit p40; D015850:Interleukin-6; D052638:Particulate Matter; C439524:TNF protein, human; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10
keywords: Air pollution; IL-10; PM10; PM2.5; TNF-α