Characterisation of volatile organic compounds in hospital indoor air and exposure health risk determination

Several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have impacts on human health, but little is known about the concentrations of VOCs in the hospital environment. This study characterised VOCs present in clinical assessment rooms. More than 600 samples of air were collected over 31 months (2017–2020) at two hospital sites in Leicester, United Kingdom, and analysed by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, making this the largest hospital environment database worldwide on VOCs and first such UK study. The most abundant VOCs found were 2-propanol, ethyl chloride, acetone and hexane, with respective mean concentrations of 696.6 μgm−3, 436.5 μgm−3, 83.9 μgm−3 and 58.5 μgm−3. Acetone, 2-propanol and hexane concentrations were 4, 9 and 30-fold higher respectively compared to similar studies performed in other hospitals. Our results showed that the most frequently detected VOCs, with the highest concentrations, were most likely released by healthcare activities, or related to ingress of vehicle emissions. Hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR) were calculated to identify the potential risk of VOCs exposure to the health of healthcare workers. No HQs were measured above 1, compared to inhaled US EPA and OEHHA health guidelines for non-cancer chemicals. For both hospitals, trichloroethylene CR were calculated above 1E-06 by using inhaled US EPA cancer risk values, leading to possible risks to healthcare workers with long-term exposure. More studies of this type, including measurements of VOCs such as formaldehyde that we were unable to include in this study, are needed to better characterise exposures and risks, both to healthcare workers and patients

The IL32/BAFF axis supports prosurvival dialogs in the lymphoma ecosystem and is disrupted by NIK inhibition

International audienceAggressive B-cell malignancies, such as mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), are microenvironment-dependent tumors and a better understanding of the dialogs occurring in lymphoma protective ecosystems will provide new perspectives to increase treatment efficiency. To identify novel molecular regulations, we performed a transcriptomic analysis based on the comparison of circulating (n=77) versus MCL lymph nodes (n=107) together with RNA sequencing of malignant (n=8) versus normal B-cell (n=6) samples. This integrated analysis led to the discovery of microenvironment-dependent and tumor-specific secretion of the interleukin-32 beta (IL32β), whose expression was confirmed in situ within MCL lymph nodes by multiplex immunohistochemistry. Using ex vivo models of primary MCL cells (n=23), we demonstrated that, through the secretion of IL32β, the tumor was able to polarize monocytes into specific MCL-associated macrophages, which in turn favor tumor survival. We highlighted that while IL32β-stimulated macrophages secreted several protumoral factors, they supported tumor survival through a soluble dialog, mostly driven by BAFF. Finally, we demonstrated the efficacy of selective NIK/alternative-NFNB inhibition to counteract microenvironment-dependent induction of IL32β and BAFF-dependent survival of MCL cells. This data uncovered the IL32β/BAFF axis as a previously undescribed pathway involved in lymphoma-associated macrophages polarization and tumor survival, which could be counteracted through selective NIK inhibition

Characterisation of volatile organic compounds in hospital indoor air and exposure health risk determination

Several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have impacts on human health, but little is known about the concentrations of VOCs in the hospital environment. This study characterised VOCs present in clinical assessment rooms. More than 600 samples of air were collected over 31 months (2017–2020) at two hospital sites in Leicester, United Kingdom, and analysed by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, making this the largest hospital environment database worldwide on VOCs and first such UK study. The most abundant VOCs found were 2-propanol, ethyl chloride, acetone and hexane, with respective mean concentrations of 696.6 μgm−3, 436.5 μgm−3, 83.9 μgm−3 and 58.5 μgm−3. Acetone, 2-propanol and hexane concentrations were 4, 9 and 30-fold higher respectively compared to similar studies performed in other hospitals. Our results showed that the most frequently detected VOCs, with the highest concentrations, were most likely released by healthcare activities, or related to ingress of vehicle emissions. Hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR) were calculated to identify the potential risk of VOCs exposure to the health of healthcare workers. No HQs were measured above 1, compared to inhaled US EPA and OEHHA health guidelines for non-cancer chemicals. For both hospitals, trichloroethylene CR were calculated above 1E-06 by using inhaled US EPA cancer risk values, leading to possible risks to healthcare workers with long-term exposure. More studies of this type, including measurements of VOCs such as formaldehyde that we were unable to include in this study, are needed to better characterise exposures and risks, both to healthcare workers and patients.</p