title: Environmental factors and human health: fibrous and particulate substance-induced immunological disorders and construction of a health-promoting living environment.
abstract: Among the various scientific fields covered in the area of hygiene such as environmental medicine, epidemiology, public health and preventive medicine, we are investigating the immunological effects of fibrous and particulate substances in the environment and work surroundings, such as asbestos fibers and silica particles. In addition to these studies, we have attempted to construct health-promoting living conditions. Thus, in this review we will summarize our investigations regarding the (1) immunological effects of asbestos fibers, (2) immunological effects of silica particles, and (3) construction of a health-promoting living environment. This review article summarizes the 2014 Japanese Society for Hygiene (JSH) Award Lecture of the 85th Annual Meeting of the JSH entitled "Environmental health effects: immunological effects of fibrous and particulate matter and establishment of health-promoting environments" presented by the first author of this manuscript, Prof. Otsuki, Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan, the recipient of the 2014 JSH award. The results of our experiments can be summarized as follows: (1) asbestos fibers reduce anti-tumor immunity, (2) silica particles chronically activate responder and regulatory T cells causing an unbalance of these two populations of T helper cells, which may contribute to the development of autoimmune disorders frequently complicating silicosis, and (3) living conditions to enhance natural killer cell activity were developed, which may promote the prevention of cancers and diminish symptoms of virus infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan. takemi@med.kawasaki-m.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Takemi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Otsuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan.
authors.forename: Suni
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kumagai-Takei
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan.
authors.forename: Shoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan.
authors.forename: Tamayo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hatayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan.
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshitome
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasumitsu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishimura
mesh_terms: D001194:Asbestos / Q000276:immunology*; D001195:Asbestosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004782:Environmental Health; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000276:immunology; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000276:immunology*; D012829:Silicosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D052638:Particulate Matter; D001194:Asbestos; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: Asbestos; Living environment; NK cell; Silica; T cell