Immunological issues of occupational chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in combination witharterial hypertension

Abstract

Background:One of actual practical and scientific problems in pulmonology and occupational medicine is often development of occupational bronchitis and its rapid transformation into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (C OPD). Aims and objectives:The study is dedicated to investigation of immune homeostasis and cytokine system in occupational C OPD in combination with arterial hypertension (АH) and assessment of immune inflammation role in the development and progression of associated pathology. Results:Peculiarities of clinical course of C OPD in the relation to presence of combined AH and patients profession were revealed. The disease influence on life quality of dust professions workers from machinebuilding industry was established. It was proofed that one of mechanisms of C OPD clinical manifestation is the disbalance in immune system. It included the moderate depression of non-specific (phagocytosis activity, nitro blue tetrazolium test, natural killers C D16) and cellular (decrease of Т-lymphocytes C D3, increase of lymphocyte migration inhibitionreaction) components of immune system on the background of activation of humoral (increase of IgM, IgG), and in cytokine component – increase of TNFα, IL-4 with decrease of IFNγ levels. Conclusions:The presence of assosiated AH in patients with C OPD is accompanied by the activation of immunoinflammatory process with boost of humoral answer at the background of cellular immunodepression and more espressed dysbalance in cytokine system. Immunoinflammatory changes are also connected with working conditions and define the peculiarities of clinical manifestation of C OPD in different professional groups.