STUDIES ON PATHOGENESIS AND PREVENTION OF HYPERSENSITIVITY PNEUMONITIS DUE TO AGRICULTURAL WORKS

(1)对1600名从事各类作物的农业工人进行的问卷调查显示，平均有6%（从4%到13%不等）的被试抱怨与工作相关的过敏性肺炎症状。该症状的患病率最高的是家禽和其他畜牧业群体。(2)对1名甜瓜种植者、1名蘑菇（香菇）种植者和1名马铃薯（芋头）种植者在从事农业工作后出现过敏性肺炎相关症状的过敏病例研究证实，这些病例的病因是由工作环境中产生的一些真菌和香菇菌丝致敏的过敏性肺炎。(3)建立动物模型，预测农业工人在工作环境中接触的第三类过敏原的致敏性，并阐明这些过敏原的量效关系。最后，我们采用Takizawa等人提出的共基因小鼠鼻腔注射的方法，初步证实在患者工作环境中鉴定到的镰刀菌真菌提取物具有第三类过敏的致敏性。结果表明，所建立的动物模型可用于预测农业工作环境中病原菌的第三类致敏性。(4)本调查结果和对目前农业工作致过敏性肺炎的认识总结的参考调查结果表明，从事各种作物的农业工人可能发生多种新型过敏性肺炎，其病因应进一步调查。

(1) The questionnaire survy of 1600 agricultural workers engaged in various kinds of crops revealed that the average of 6%, from 4% to 13%, of the subjects complained of work-related symptoms associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The highest prevalence rate of that symptom was seen in the poultry and other animal husbandary groups.(2) The allergologic case studies of a melon growers, Japanese mshroom (shiitake) workers and a potato (taro) grower who complained of developing manifestations associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis following with their agricultural works confirmed that the etiology of those cases was hypersensitivity pneumonitis sensitized by some fungi and shiitake hyphae generating in the work environments.(3) An experimental study was conducted to develop the animal model to predict of allergenicity of the third type allergy among agents exposing to agricultural workers in their work environment and clarify the dose-response and effect relationships of those agents. Finally, we adopted the nose-injection method using syngenic mice proposed by Takizawa et al., and confirmed preliminary that the fungal extract of Fusarium sp. identified in the patient's work environment showed allergenicity of the third type allergy. The result indicated that the animal model we developed was useful for predicting third type allergenicity of agents generated from agricultural work environment.(4) The results of our present investigation and the reference survey conducted to summarize the present knowledge of hypersensitivity pneumonitis induced by agricultura works indicated that various kinds of new type hypersensitivity pneumonitis might being occurred among agricultural workers engaged in various kinds of crops and further investigation for the etiology of that disease should be advanced.