Similarities further established between asbestos and nanotechnology materialsProvidence, Rhode Island - A recent study conducted in conjunction with the Division of Endocrinology at the Brown Medical School Department of Medicine in Providence, Rhode Island has found that the most common causes of granulomatous inflammation are persistent pathogens and poorly-degradable irritating materials, such as nanoparticles and asbestos. A characteristic pathological reaction to inhalation of toxic fibers is the formation of epithelioid granulomas in conjunction with interstitial fibrosis in the lungs.
Asbestos is a highly hazardous mineral that is known to cause such fatal diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen. The latter is also known as asbestos cancer and is often preceded by the appearance of granulomas and fibrosis of the mesothelium, the protective lining around the aforementioned organs and cavities. Many scientists now believe that the use of nanotubes and other nanomaterials may cause the same damage to tissue as asbestos.
In the study, carbon black particles (Printex 90) and asbestos fibers were compared with three commercial samples of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Exposure of bone marrow-derived macrophages to 0.5 ug/ml of asbestos or MWCNTs induced macrophage differentiation into epithelioid cells and formation of stable aggregates with the characteristic morphology of granulomas. Plus, the macrophages exposed to high aspect ratio nanomaterials expressed proinflammatory as well as profibrotic phenotypic markers.
From this, the scientists have concluded that the induction of epithelioid granulomas correlates with high aspect ratio and complex 3D structure of carbon nanotubes, but not with their iron content or surface area.
--Sanchez, VC. A 3-Dimensional in vitro model of epitheloid granulomas induced by high aspect ratio nanomaterials. Particle and Fiber Toxicology. 2011. Vol. 8(1); 17.
