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Exposure to wood dust within the woodworking industry has been shown to cause a variety of respiratory disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the cellular effects in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and peripheral blood from healthy individuals exposed to pinewood dust. Eleven healthy volunteers were exposed to pinewood dust for 1 h in a whole-body exposure chamber. BAL fluid and blood cells were differentially counted and the expression of activation, adhesion and subset markers on alveolar macrophages and T-lymphocytes was determined 2-6 weeks before and 20 h after the exposure. Following pinewood dust exposure, the total BAL fluid cell concentration increased from 81.4 (64.1-97.5) x 10(6) cells x L(-1) (median (interquartile range)) to 195.3 (154.6-341.2) x 10(6) cells x L(-1). The BAL fluid T-lymphocyte concentration increased from 3.8% (3.5-6.5%) to 7.6% (4.9-11.2%), and BAL fluid eosinophil concentration from 0.0% (0.0-0.2%) to 1.8% (0.6-3.5%). Inhalation of pinewood dust leads to the recruitment of inflammatory cells to the airways of healthy individuals. The increase in numbers of eosinophils, T-lymphocytes and mast cells, i.e. cells of crucial importance to airway inflammation, in the lungs may be related to the increased risk of developing respiratory disorders among woodworkers.

Starch is a main component of wheat flour, which, besides being an occupational allergen can also induce irritative symptoms in the airways. A purified starch product (cornstarch glove powder) was used to investigate whether starch alone could induce airway inflammation. The aim of the study was to investigate a role for starch in wheat flour-induced airway inflammation. Ten healthy individuals were exposed to cornstarch glove powder in a whole-body exposure chamber. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed 2-3 weeks before and 1 day after exposure, and the BAL cells were counted differentially. In addition, the expression of activation, adhesion and subset markers on alveolar macrophages and BAL T-cells were investigated using flow cytometry. A three-fold increase in BAL cell concentrations was found, with a selective accumulation and activation of eosinophilic granulocytes, as well as an influx of nonactivated monocytes and polyclonal CD4+ T-cells into the airways. The results show that inhalation of cornstarch glove powder leads to the development of a subclinical inflammation in the airways, with an accumulation of eosinophilic granulocytes. The authors suggest that such exposure may be an interesting model for studying factors contributing to lung accumulations of eosinophil granulocytes in humans.