Evidence for Environmental-Human Microbiota Transfer at a Manufacturing Facility with Novel Work-related Respiratory Disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2020 Dec 15;202(12):1678-1688
Date
07/17/2020Pubmed ID
32673495Pubmed Central ID
PMC7737585DOI
10.1164/rccm.202001-0197OCScopus ID
2-s2.0-85097961879 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 15 CitationsAbstract
Rationale: Workers' exposure to metalworking fluid (MWF) has been associated with respiratory disease.Objectives: As part of a public health investigation of a manufacturing facility, we performed a cross-sectional study using paired environmental and human sampling to evaluate the cross-pollination of microbes between the environment and the host and possible effects on lung pathology present among workers.Methods: Workplace environmental microbiota were evaluated in air and MWF samples. Human microbiota were evaluated in lung tissue samples from workers with respiratory symptoms found to have lymphocytic bronchiolitis and alveolar ductitis with B-cell follicles and emphysema, in lung tissue samples from control subjects, and in skin, nasal, and oral samples from 302 workers from different areas of the facility. In vitro effects of MWF exposure on murine B cells were assessed.Measurements and Main Results: An increased similarity of microbial composition was found between MWF samples and lung tissue samples of case workers compared with control subjects. Among workers in different locations within the facility, those that worked in the machine shop area had skin, nasal, and oral microbiota more closely related to the microbiota present in the MWF samples. Lung samples from four index cases and skin and nasal samples from workers in the machine shop area were enriched with Pseudomonas, the dominant taxa in MWF. Exposure to used MWF stimulated murine B-cell proliferation in vitro, a hallmark cell subtype found in the pathology of index cases.Conclusions: Evaluation of a manufacturing facility with a cluster of workers with respiratory disease supports cross-pollination of microbes from MWF to humans and suggests the potential for exposure to these microbes to be a health hazard.
Author List
Wu BG, Kapoor B, Cummings KJ, Stanton ML, Nett RJ, Kreiss K, Abraham JL, Colby TV, Franko AD, Green FHY, Sanyal S, Clemente JC, Gao Z, Coffre M, Meyn P, Heguy A, Li Y, Sulaiman I, Borbet TC, Koralov SB, Tallaksen RJ, Wendland D, Bachelder VD, Boylstein RJ, Park JH, Cox-Ganser JM, Virji MA, Crawford JA, Edwards NT, Veillette M, Duchaine C, Warren K, Lundeen S, Blaser MJ, Segal LNAuthor
Sarah J. Lundeen NP APP Outpatient in the Surgery department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAerosols
Air Microbiology
Air Pollutants, Occupational
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities
Microbiota
Middle Aged
Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes
Respiration Disorders
United States
