Understanding the pathogenesis of occupational coal and silica dust-associated lung disease
Workers in the mining and construction industries are at increased risk of respiratory and other diseases as a result of being exposed to harmful levels of airborne particulate matter (PM) for extended periods of time. While clear links have been established between PM exposure and the development o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
European Respiratory Society
2022-07-01
|
| Series: | European Respiratory Review |
| Online Access: | http://err.ersjournals.com/content/31/165/210250.full |
| _version_ | 1828110252475678720 |
|---|---|
| author | Kanth Swaroop Vanka Shakti Shukla Henry M. Gomez Carole James Thava Palanisami Kenneth Williams Daniel C. Chambers Warwick J. Britton Dusan Ilic Philip Michael Hansbro Jay Christopher Horvat |
| author_facet | Kanth Swaroop Vanka Shakti Shukla Henry M. Gomez Carole James Thava Palanisami Kenneth Williams Daniel C. Chambers Warwick J. Britton Dusan Ilic Philip Michael Hansbro Jay Christopher Horvat |
| author_sort | Kanth Swaroop Vanka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Workers in the mining and construction industries are at increased risk of respiratory and other diseases as a result of being exposed to harmful levels of airborne particulate matter (PM) for extended periods of time. While clear links have been established between PM exposure and the development of occupational lung disease, the mechanisms are still poorly understood. A greater understanding of how exposures to different levels and types of PM encountered in mining and construction workplaces affect pathophysiological processes in the airways and lungs and result in different forms of occupational lung disease is urgently required. Such information is needed to inform safe exposure limits and monitoring guidelines for different types of PM and development of biomarkers for earlier disease diagnosis. Suspended particles with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 µm and 2.5 µm are considered biologically active owing to their ability to bypass the upper respiratory tract's defences and penetrate deep into the lung parenchyma, where they induce potentially irreversible damage, impair lung function and reduce the quality of life. Here we review the current understanding of occupational respiratory diseases, including coal worker pneumoconiosis and silicosis, and how PM exposure may affect pathophysiological responses in the airways and lungs. We also highlight the use of experimental models for better understanding these mechanisms of pathogenesis. We outline the urgency for revised dust control strategies, and the need for evidence-based identification of safe level exposures using clinical and experimental studies to better protect workers’ health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:17:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-160dde4f7cf5490aa2ec9b7342655e8d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0905-9180 1600-0617 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:17:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | European Respiratory Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Respiratory Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-160dde4f7cf5490aa2ec9b7342655e8d2022-12-22T04:27:11ZengEuropean Respiratory SocietyEuropean Respiratory Review0905-91801600-06172022-07-013116510.1183/16000617.0250-20210250-2021Understanding the pathogenesis of occupational coal and silica dust-associated lung diseaseKanth Swaroop Vanka0Shakti Shukla1Henry M. Gomez2Carole James3Thava Palanisami4Kenneth Williams5Daniel C. Chambers6Warwick J. Britton7Dusan Ilic8Philip Michael Hansbro9Jay Christopher Horvat10 School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle/Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs, Hunter Medical Research Institute, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia Discipline of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle/Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs, Hunter Medical Research Institute, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia School of Health Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Nanomaterials, College of Engineering, Science and Environment (CERSE), The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER), School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia Centenary Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER), School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle/Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs, Hunter Medical Research Institute, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle/Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs, Hunter Medical Research Institute, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia Workers in the mining and construction industries are at increased risk of respiratory and other diseases as a result of being exposed to harmful levels of airborne particulate matter (PM) for extended periods of time. While clear links have been established between PM exposure and the development of occupational lung disease, the mechanisms are still poorly understood. A greater understanding of how exposures to different levels and types of PM encountered in mining and construction workplaces affect pathophysiological processes in the airways and lungs and result in different forms of occupational lung disease is urgently required. Such information is needed to inform safe exposure limits and monitoring guidelines for different types of PM and development of biomarkers for earlier disease diagnosis. Suspended particles with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 µm and 2.5 µm are considered biologically active owing to their ability to bypass the upper respiratory tract's defences and penetrate deep into the lung parenchyma, where they induce potentially irreversible damage, impair lung function and reduce the quality of life. Here we review the current understanding of occupational respiratory diseases, including coal worker pneumoconiosis and silicosis, and how PM exposure may affect pathophysiological responses in the airways and lungs. We also highlight the use of experimental models for better understanding these mechanisms of pathogenesis. We outline the urgency for revised dust control strategies, and the need for evidence-based identification of safe level exposures using clinical and experimental studies to better protect workers’ health.http://err.ersjournals.com/content/31/165/210250.full |
| spellingShingle | Kanth Swaroop Vanka Shakti Shukla Henry M. Gomez Carole James Thava Palanisami Kenneth Williams Daniel C. Chambers Warwick J. Britton Dusan Ilic Philip Michael Hansbro Jay Christopher Horvat Understanding the pathogenesis of occupational coal and silica dust-associated lung disease European Respiratory Review |
| title | Understanding the pathogenesis of occupational coal and silica dust-associated lung disease |
| title_full | Understanding the pathogenesis of occupational coal and silica dust-associated lung disease |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the pathogenesis of occupational coal and silica dust-associated lung disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the pathogenesis of occupational coal and silica dust-associated lung disease |
| title_short | Understanding the pathogenesis of occupational coal and silica dust-associated lung disease |
| title_sort | understanding the pathogenesis of occupational coal and silica dust associated lung disease |
| url | http://err.ersjournals.com/content/31/165/210250.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kanthswaroopvanka understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT shaktishukla understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT henrymgomez understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT carolejames understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT thavapalanisami understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT kennethwilliams understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT danielcchambers understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT warwickjbritton understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT dusanilic understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT philipmichaelhansbro understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease AT jaychristopherhorvat understandingthepathogenesisofoccupationalcoalandsilicadustassociatedlungdisease |