病院施設における指針値濃度以下の揮発性有機化合物は肺疾患モデルマウスの病態形成に影響を与える

抄録

Indoor air quality (IAQ)  has been suggested to affect respiratory diseases. Large amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), emitted from indoor building materials, are known to cause healthy people to induce sick building syndrome., thereby being regulated as an IAQ guideline. However, the effects of VOCs below the IAQ  guideline values on disease pathogenesis have not been adequately studied. If indoor VOCs affect disease development, they may also influence the treatment of respiratory diseases. In this study, we aimed to clarify the effects of indoor VOCs on the diseases of allergic asthma and acute lung injury (ALI) in model mice. We compared the pathological conditions of mice exposed to indoor air containing VOCs below the guideline values and those exposed to clean air whose VOCs were removed by a chemical filter. In addition, we compared the animal experimental environment with the clinical environment by collecting the IAQ data from the mouse breeding environment and the medical facility.

Our results indicated that clean air exposure significantly improved SpO₂, histological abnormalities, and gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in asthma and ALI models. Our findings suggest that indoor VOCs even below the guideline values can influence the lung and immune function in asthma and ALI.