Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is a granulomatous lung disease that occurs primarily in workers who are exposed to beryllium dust or fumes. Although exposure to beryllium is a necessary factor in the pathobiology of CBD, alleles that code for a glutamic acid residue at the 69th position of the HLA-DPbeta1 gene have previously been found to be associated with CBD. To date, 43 HLA-DPbeta1 allele...

CD4(+) T cells play a key role in granulomatous inflammation in the lung of patients with chronic beryllium disease. The goal of this study was to characterize activation pathways of beryllium-responsive bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) CD4(+) T cells from chronic beryllium disease patients to identify possible therapeutic interventional strategies. Our results demonstrate that in the presence of A...

Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is caused by workplace exposure to beryllium and is characterized by the accumulation of memory CD4+ T cells in the lung. These cells respond vigorously to beryllium salts in culture by producing proinflammatory Th1-type cytokines. The presence of these inflammatory cytokines leads to the recruitment of alveolar macrophages, alveolitis, and subsequent granuloma d...

T-cell-mediated hypersensitivity to metal cations is common in humans. How the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) recognizes these cations bound to a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) protein and self-peptide is unknown. Individuals carrying the MHCII allele, HLA-DP2, are at risk for chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a debilitating inflammatory lung condition caused by the reaction of CD4 T cell...

The assessment of disability in dust diseases of the lung presents a problem of great practical importance. Available evidence indicates that disturbance of the alveolar respiratory component of pulmonary function is of importance in producing disability only in such diseases as pulmonary sarcoidosis and berylliosis (Ferris, Affeldt, Kriete, and Whitten berger, 1951) where there is a lesion of ...

C hronic beryllium disease (CBD) appeared to be waning 30 yrs ago [1]. In 1980, less than one case per year was reported and the incidence rate per ton of beryllium produced had declined from between five and 10, to less than 0.001. CBD appeared to be heading toward the medical archives as a success story of environmental control in the absence of understanding of the pathogenesis of the diseas...

Because of their high prevalence in the general population, genetic variants that determine susceptibility to environmental exposures may contribute greatly to the development of occupational diseases in the setting of specific exposures occurring in the workplace. Studies investigating genetic susceptibilities in the workplace may: (1) provide mechanistic insight into the aetiology of disease,...

Multiple epidemiologic studies demonstrate associations between chronic beryllium disease (CBD), beryllium sensitization (BeS), and HLA-DPB1 alleles with a glutamic acid residue at position 69 (E69). Results suggest that the less-frequent E69 variants (non-*0201/*0202 alleles) might be associated with greater risk of CBD. In this study, we sought to define specific E69-carrying alleles and thei...

Beryllium was released into the air from routine operations and three accidental fires at the Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) in Colorado from 1958 to 1989. We evaluated environmental monitoring data and developed estimates of airborne concentrations and their uncertainties and calculated lifetime cancer risks and risks of chronic beryllium disease to hypothetical receptors. This article discusses expo...

Monkeys and dogs were used in a series of studies designed to assess the ability of aurin tricarboxylic acid (ATA) to provide protection against acute beryllium poisoning. The acute LD50 of ATA was found to be 344 mgA/g for monkeys and 164 mg/kg for dogs. Neither species exhibited significant hematological changes when given weekly ATA doses of 25 mg/kg over an 8-month period. The lethal intrav...