Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):198-201 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5851

Health aspects of exposure to emissions from burning coal of high beryllium content: interactions with the immune system

Jitka Petanová1, Vladimír Bencko2
1 Institute of Immunology and Microbiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
2 Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

Beryllium has an impact on the human health of professionally or non-occupationally exposed people. Current evidence suggests that beryllium acts as a hapten with limited antigenic properties and is presented by antigen presenting cells to CD4+ T cells, which possess specific antigen receptors. The immunological changes in humoral immunoreactivity were considered biomarkers of beryllium exposure. In the present, due to the development of immunologic knowledge, tests of cellular immunity have promising potential for further research in this field. The historical view of the immune response to beryllium in acute and/or chronic beryllium disease is an example of the development of the interaction between mechanisms of innate and adaptive (specific), humoral and cellular immunity. The authors emphasize the increasing importance of immunological aspects in the studies of health impacts of human exposure to environmental pollutants.

Keywords: beryllium-rich coal, human exposure, cellular immunity, humoral immunity

Received: June 11, 2019; Revised: July 14, 2020; Accepted: July 14, 2020; Published: September 30, 2020  Show citation

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Petanová J, Bencko V. Health aspects of exposure to emissions from burning coal of high beryllium content: interactions with the immune system. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2020;28(3):198-201. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a5851. PubMed PMID: 32997475.
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