Results of a new study by Sarkar and colleagues (2019) published in the journal Science Signaling suggests that exposure to constituents of welding fumes amplifies NLRP3 inflammasome signaling and exosomal ASC release. The NLRP3 inflammasome oligomeric complex is composed of an adapter protein ASC (apoptosis- associated speck-like protein containing a CARD), caspase-1, and NLRP3. Welders have plasma exosomes that contain more of the adapter protein ASC (apoptosis- associated speck-like protein containing a CARD) than controls. Many factors have been implicated in activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome cascade including mitochondrial dysfunction which can be mediated by manganese. However, when these investigators analyzed whole blood for manganese levels in welders and unexposed controls they did not observe any significant differences. More work is needed to determine which constituents of welding fumes are are associated with these observations.
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