TY - JOUR T1 - Exposure to welding fume and oxidative stress in airway epithelial cells JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J DO - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2016.PA4283 VL - 48 IS - suppl 60 SP - PA4283 AU - Reetika Suri AU - Jonathan Grigg Y1 - 2016/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/48/suppl_60/PA4283.abstract N2 - Background: Exposure of cells to particulate matter (PM) causes oxidative stress. This can trigger inflammation and downstream tissue damage. Welding fumes, a type of PM, have been shown to cause oxidative stress in lower airway epithelial cells and occupational exposure to welding fumes causes oxidative stress in welders. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved in the cellular response to oxidative stress after exposure to welding fumes. Thus, we sought to assess whether key regulators of the oxidative stress response, such as HIF-1α and DUOX1, are upregulated by welding fume exposure in lower airway epithelial cells.Methods: Confluent monolayers of the alveolar and bronchial epithelial cell lines, A549 and BEAS-2B respectively, were exposed to either mild (MS) or stainless steel (SS) welding fume (WF) for 2 h. Cell lysates were run on SDS-PAGE gels and the membrane blocked. Anti-HIF-1α and DUOX1 primary antibodies and HRP conjugated secondary antibodies were used. Bands were visualised using ECL technology. Β-actin was used as a loading control. Blots were scanned and analysed using ImageJ. Band density was normalised to the loading control and to the control sample. Data are from at least 3 different experiments.Results: Exposure to both types of WF increased HIF-1α protein levels in both cell types. Exposure to both types of WF increased DUOX1 expression in A549 cells but not in BEAS-2B cells.Conclusion: These data suggest a role for HIF-1α (in both cell types) and DUOX1 (in A549 cells) in the lower airway epithelial cell response to a known cause of oxidative stress. Further work is needed to study the impact of blocking these molecules on the oxidative stress response. ER -