Immune cell polarization in autoimmune diseases caused by environmental particles

• Project/Area Number: 17K09171
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Hygiene and public health
• Research Institution: Kawasaki Medical School
• Principal Investigator: Lee Suni 川崎医科大学, 医学部, 助教 (70414026)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 大槻 剛巳 川崎医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (40160551) ; 西村 泰光 川崎医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (90360271)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,810,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,110,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
• Keywords: 珪肺症 / 自己免疫疾患 / 珪酸曝露 / 免疫毒性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In addition to respiratory lesions, silicosis patients frequently develop autoimmune diseases. Since not all cases of silicosis present with autoimmune disease, there must be trigger factors. In recent years, infections have been reported to trigger autoimmune diseases. In this study, we examined the effect of silica particles on the immune cells in vitro to reveal the mechanism of autoimmune diseases development in silicosis. As a result, it was clarified that when a TLR ligand was mixed with silica particles and added to immune cells, there were different inflammatory cytokine secretion patterns depending on the added ligand. In addition, when polarization pattern of helper T cells was examined, it was found that different TLR ligands induce different T cell subtype configurations.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

珪肺症例において、ある種の感染や異物の侵入がある場合、免疫に関わる細胞が健常例とは違った動態をとることを示している。このことは、珪肺症例で自己免疫疾患に傾向する一つの原因に感染症などがあることを示唆する結果だと考える。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Role of Nephronectin in Pathophysiology of Silicosis (2019)
  • Author(s): Lee S, Honda M, Yamamoto S, Kumagai-Takei N, Yoshitome K, Nishimura Y, Sada N, Kon S, Otsuki T.
  • Journal Title: International Journal of Molecular Sciences Volume: 20 Issue: 10 Pages: 2581-2581
  • DOI: 10.3390/ijms20102581
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Journal Article] 結晶質シリカの生体影響について―自己寛容の破綻を中心に (2019)
  • Author(s): 李順姫、武井直子、西村泰光、吉留敬、大槻剛巳
  • Journal Title: 労働衛生工学 Volume: 58 Pages: 39-44
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] 珪酸曝露下の免疫細胞におけるTLR刺激応答と自己免疫疾患関連分子の探索 (2019)
  • Author(s): 李順姫、山本祥子、幡山圭代、松﨑秀紀、武井奈子、吉留敬、西村泰光、大槻剛巳
  • Organizer: 第89回日本衛生学会
• [Presentation] 珪肺症と自己免疫疾患 (2019)
  • Author(s): 李順姫、武井直子、吉留敬、西村泰光、大槻剛巳
  • Organizer: 第46回日本毒性学会学術年会
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Clinical evaluation of CENP-B and Scl-70 autoantibodies in silicosis patients. (2018)
  • Author(s): Suni Lee
  • Organizer: International Congress on Occupational Health (ICOH2018)
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] 珪肺症における自己免疫疾患発症をもたらす増悪因子の検討 (2017)
  • Author(s): 李順姫
  • Organizer: 川崎医科大学学術集会
• [Book] Current Topics in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine (2020)
  • Author(s): Lee S, Yamamoto S, Hayashi H, Matsuzaki H, Kumagai-Takei N, Hatayama T, Yu M, Ysoshitome K, Kusaka M, Nishimura Y, Otsuki T
  • Publisher: Springer Japan
• [Patent(Industrial Property Rights)] 自己免疫異常の検査方法 (2017)
  • Inventor(s): 大槻剛巳、西村泰光、李順姫
  • Industrial Property Rights Holder: 川崎医科大学
  • Industrial Property Rights Type: 特許
  • Industrial Property Number: 2017-192501
  • Filing Date: 2017