AJP - Lung Fuel your research with LabChart
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 294: L817-L829, 2008. First published February 8, 2008; doi:10.1152/ajplung.00442.2007
1040-0605/08 $8.00
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental Figure and Video
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
294/5/L817    most recent
00442.2007v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mühlfeld, C.
Right arrow Articles by Gehr, P.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mühlfeld, C.
Right arrow Articles by Gehr, P.

INVITED REVIEW

Interactions of nanoparticles with pulmonary structures and cellular responses

Christian Mühlfeld, Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser, Fabian Blank, Dimitri Vanhecke, Matthias Ochs, and Peter Gehr

Institute of Anatomy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Submitted 23 October 2007 ; accepted in final form 5 February 2008

Combustion-derived and synthetic nano-sized particles (NSP) have gained considerable interest among pulmonary researchers and clinicians for two main reasons. 1) Inhalation exposure to combustion-derived NSP was associated with increased pulmonary and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality as suggested by epidemiological studies. Experimental evidence has provided a mechanistic picture of the adverse health effects associated with inhalation of combustion-derived and synthetic NSP. 2) The toxicological potential of NSP contrasts with the potential application of synthetic NSP in technological as well as medicinal settings, with the latter including the use of NSP as diagnostics or therapeutics. To shed light on this paradox, this article aims to highlight recent findings about the interaction of inhaled NSP with the structures of the respiratory tract including surfactant, alveolar macrophages, and epithelial cells. Cellular responses to NSP exposure include the generation of reactive oxygen species and the induction of an inflammatory response. Furthermore, this review places special emphasis on methodological differences between experimental studies and the caveats associated with the dose metrics and points out ways to overcome inherent methodological problems.

ultrafine particles; engineered nanoparticles; electron tomography; translocation; oxidative stress


Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: C. Mühlfeld, Institute of Anatomy, Univ. of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 2, CH-3000 Bern 9, Switzerland (e-mail: muehlfeld{at}ana.unibe.ch)






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Visit Other APS Journals Online
Copyright © 2008 by the American Physiological Society.