A pilot randomized clinical trial of γ-tocopherol supplementation on wood smoke-induced neutrophilic and eosinophilic airway inflammation

David B Peden; Martha Almond; Christian Brooks; Carole Robinette; Heather Wells; Allison Burbank; Michelle Hernandez; Alan Hinderliter; Melissa Caughey; Qing Jiang; Qianyue Wang; Haolin Li; Haibo Zhou; Neil Alexis

doi:10.1016/j.jacig.2023.100177

A pilot randomized clinical trial of γ-tocopherol supplementation on wood smoke-induced neutrophilic and eosinophilic airway inflammation

J Allergy Clin Immunol Glob. 2023 Oct 5;2(4):100177. doi: 10.1016/j.jacig.2023.100177. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

David B Peden^{1

2}, Martha Almond¹, Christian Brooks¹, Carole Robinette¹, Heather Wells¹, Allison Burbank², Michelle Hernandez², Alan Hinderliter³, Melissa Caughey⁴, Qing Jiang⁵, Qianyue Wang⁵, Haolin Li⁶, Haibo Zhou^{1

6}, Neil Alexis^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Lung Biology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
² Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
³ Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
⁵ Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.
⁶ Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.

Abstract

Background: Air pollutants, including particulates from wood smoke, are a significant cause of exacerbation of lung disease. γ-Tocopherol is an anti-inflammatory isoform of vitamin E that has been shown to reduce allergen-, ozone-, and endotoxin-induced inflammation.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether γ-tocopherol would prevent experimental wood smoke-induced airway inflammation in humans.

Methods: This was a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial testing the effect of a short course of γ-tocopherol-enriched supplementation on airway inflammation following a controlled exposure to wood smoke particulates.

Results: Short-course γ-tocopherol intervention did not reduce wood smoke-induced neutrophilic airway inflammation, but it did prevent wood smoke-induced eosinophilic airway inflammation.

Conclusion: γ-Tocopherol is a potential intervention for exacerbation of allergic airway inflammation, but further study examining longer dosing periods is required.

Keywords: air pollution; asthma; environmental lung disease; eosinophils; neutrophils; wood smoke particles; γ-Tocopherol.

Abstract

Grants and funding