Dermatological effects of gulf oil

描述(申请人提供)：最近的墨西哥湾BP漏油事件无疑是美国历史上最严重的人为漏油事件，甚至比1989年臭名昭著的埃克森-瓦尔迪兹漏油事件也相形见绌。石油泄漏清理工作人员往往会对健康造成无数影响，如皮肤、肺部和神经问题。皮肤炎症性疾病在工作场所几乎无处不在。在世界范围内，高达50%的工人在任何时候都患有皮炎(Diepgen，2007)，在美国，报告的与工人补偿相关的职业伤害中，接触性皮炎在所有行业的工人中排名第二，影响到工人(Beltri，2003)。皮炎分为两种主要表现，即刺激性和过敏性。这些病理之间的主要区别通常被描述为疾病是免疫性的(过敏性)，涉及T细胞；还是非免疫性的(刺激性)，物理损害被认为是主要的始发事件。由于最近的一份报告发现，墨西哥湾漏油事件的石油样本确实对皮肤有刺激性，因此这项应用的第一个具体目标将是确定相关的炎症反应。小鼠将暴露在新鲜的和耐候的油或对照组中七天。皮肤样本将通过组织学和流式细胞术评估炎性细胞因子的表达和炎性细胞的渗透。第二个具体目标将试图确定泄漏的原油中的哪些成分可能与皮炎有关。首先，提取石油暴露小鼠的皮肤，并通过GC-MS分析石油化工产品。还有一种可能性是，油中的微生物污染可能会导致刺激性或过敏。因此，将通过rRNA分析从石油样品中评估和鉴定海洋细菌种群。该项目的最终目标是确定漏油皮炎的性质，以便进行合理的风险评估和暴露指南。由于人们对石油泄漏对健康的影响知之甚少，这些数据也将为未来的研究提供方向，从而有助于对这种病理机制的进一步机械研究。 与公众健康相关：最近的英国石油公司墨西哥湾漏油事件无疑是美国历史上最严重的海上石油泄漏事件，甚至使臭名昭著的埃克森-瓦尔迪兹石油泄漏事件相形见绌。石油泄漏清理工作人员往往会对健康造成无数影响，如皮肤、肺部和神经问题。这项提议旨在调查最近英国石油公司漏油事件中新鲜和风化的石油对皮肤的影响。由于对石油泄漏皮炎的病理知之甚少，这个项目将确定反复暴露在风化和新鲜的石油中会引发什么类型的皮炎，无论它是刺激性的还是过敏性的。该项目还将试图确定风化油中可能与皮炎形成有关的成分。这项研究将有助于风险评估和为漏油工人以及漏油区域附近的人群制定暴露指南。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The recent gulf BP oil spill is undoubtedly the worst man made oil spill in US history, dwarfing even the notorious Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. Oil spill clean up workers tend to have a myriad of health effects, such as skin, lung, and neurological problems. Inflammatory disorders of the skin are almost ubiquitous in the work place. Up to 50% of workers world-wide suffer from dermatitis at any time (Diepgen, 2007) and of reported occupational injury associated with workman's compensation in the US, contact dermatitis ranks second most prevalent overall, affecting workers in all industries (Beltrani, 2003). Dermatitis is divided into two main manifestations, that of irritant and allergic. The major difference between these pathologies is often described as whether the disease is of immunological origin (allergic) where T Cells are involved; or of non-immunological origin (irritant) where physical damage is thought to be the major initiating event. Since a very recent report found that oil samples from the Gulf Oil Spill were indeed a skin irritant, the focus of the first specific aim of this application will be to define the associated inflammatory response. Mice will be exposed to fresh and weathered oil or controls for seven days. Skin samples will be assessed for inflammatory cytokine expression, and inflammatory cell infiltration by histology and flow cytometry. The second specific aim will attempt to identify what components of spilled crude oil might be associated with dermatitis. First, skin of oil exposed mice will be extracted and petrochemicals will be determined by GC-MS analysis. There is also the possibility that microbial contamination of oil may lend itself to irritancy or allergy. Thus, marine bacteria populations will be assessed and identified from oil samples by rRNA analysis. The ultimate goal of this project is to identify the nature of oil spill dermatitis, allowing for rational risk assessment and exposure guidelines. Since little is known concerning oil spill health effects, these data will also aid in the further mechanistic investigations of this pathology by providing direction for future research. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The recent BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill is undoubtedly the worst marine oil spill in US history, dwarfing even the notorious Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. Oil spill clean up workers tend to have a myriad of health effects, such as skin, lung, and neurological problems. This proposal aims to investigate the dermal effects of fresh and weathered oil from the recent BP oil spill. As little to nothing is known concerning the pathology of oil spill dermatitis, this project would define what type of dermatitis is elicited by repeated exposure to weathered and fresh oil, whether it is irritant or allergic in nature. The project would also attempt to identify components of weathered oil that might be associated with formation of dermatitis. This research will aid in risk assessment and the development for exposure guidelines for oil spill workers as well as populations adjacent to oil spill areas.