Responses to Welding Fumes: Lung Injury, Inflammation, and the Release of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Interleukin-1β

Possible mechanisms were examined whereby welding fumes may elicit injury and inflammation in the lungs. The effects of different welding fumes on lung macrophages and on the in vivo production of two inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), were assessed. Fume was collected during flux-covered manual metal arc welding using a stainless steel consumable electrode (MMA-SS) and gas metal arc welding using a mild steel electrode (GMA-MS). For the in vitro study, bronchoalveolar lavage was performed on untreated rats to recover lung macrophages, and the effects of the welding fumes on macrophage viability and respiratory burst were examined. In vivo, additional rats were intratracheally instilled with the welding fumes at a dose of 1 mg/100 g body weight. These rats were lavaged 1, 14, and 35 days postinstillation, and indicators of lung damage (cellular differential, albumin, TNF-α and IL-1β release, and lactate dehydrogenase and β-n-acetyl glucosaminidase activities) were measured. In vitro, the MMA-SS fume was more cytotoxic to the macrophages and induced a greater release of reactive oxygen species as measured by the respiratory burst compared to the GMA-MS fume. In vivo, evidence of lung damage was observed for both fumes 1 day postinstillation. By 14 days, lung responses to the GMA-MS fume had subsided and were not different from the saline vehicle control group. Significant lung damage was still observed for the MMA-SS group at 14 days, but by 35 days, the responses had returned to control values. One day after the instillations, both welding fumes had detectable levels of TNF-α and IL-1β within the lavage fluid. However, the MMA-SS particles caused a significantly greater release of both cytokines in the lavage fluid than did the GMA-MS group. The results demonstrate that MMA-SS fume caused more pneumotoxicity than GMA-MS. This increased response may reflect enhanced macrophage activation, the increased production of reactive oxygen species, as well as secretion of TNF-α and IL-1β.