Immunochemical markers of effect under exposure to risk factors causing vibration disease of different etiogenesis: comparative assessment

In recent years, it has become especially vital to identify prognostic risks of health disorders in workers exposed to harmful occupational factors. This is necessary for substantiating an occupational origin of a disease and biomarkers of exposure and for optimizing the occupational risk assessment methodology. The aim of this study was to compare and analyze immunochemical markers of effect (cytokines, heat shock proteins, and neuronal antibodies (AB)) in blood serum of patients with vibration disease (VD) induced by exposure to different types of vibration in order to substantiate the most informative diagnostic risk indicators concerning the disease development and clinical course. Cytokines, heat shock proteins, and antibodies to regulatory proteins of nervous tissue were identified in blood by ELISA tests. We established unidirectional statistically significantly more apparent changes in patients who had VD caused by combined exposure to both whole body vibration and local vibration against those who had VD caused by exposure to local vibration only. These changes included hyperactivated pro-inflammatory reactions of the immune response (IL-1β, TNF-α, INFγ), growing concentrations of antibodies to proteins: S-100, MBP, NF-200, GFAP, and voltage-gated Ca-channel. The differences were that patients with VD under combined exposure to both types of vibration had greater production of pro-inflammatory IL-8 and HSP27 whereas people with VD caused by exposure to local vibration only had a decrease in HSP70 levels. The study results confirmed more apparent neuro-immune inflammation in patients with VD caused by combined exposure to both whole body vibration and local vibration. This may indicate more significant risk factors of the disease and gives an opportunity to identify the most sensitive biomarkers eligible for diagnosing VD of different etiogenesis.