Sulfur dioxide exposure reduces the quantity of CD19(+) cells and causes nasal epithelial injury in rats

BACKGROUND: Reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS), also called irritant-induced asthma, is a type of occupational asthma that can occur within a very short period of latency. The study sought to investigate the influence of sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) exposure on CD19+ cells and nasal epithelial injury. METHODS: We investigated the effects of SO(2) on CD19 expression and morphological changes of nasal epithelia in rats. In the study, 20 rats were randomly divided into the SO(2) exposure group that were exposed to 600 ppm SO(2), 2 h/day for consecutive 7 days, and the control group that were exposed to filtered air). RESULTS: Inhalation of high concentration of SO(2)significantly reduced CD19 expression at both the mRNA transcript and protein levels, and reduced the percentages of CD19(+) cells and CD19(+)/CD23(+) cells in the nasal septum. However, inhalation of high concentration of SO(2) did not affect immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgA and IgE levels in the serum and nasal septum. More importantly, SO(2) exposure also caused mild structural changes of the nasal septum. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal that inhalation of a high concentration of SO(2) reduces CD19 expression and causes structural change of the nasal septum in rats.