Macrophage inflammatory responses to amorphous silica particles

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24590158
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental pharmacy
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: NAKAYAMA Masafumi 東北大学, 学際科学フロンティア研究所, 准教授 (20453582)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): OGASAWARA Kouetsu 東北大学, 加齢医学研究所, 教授 (30323603)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: シリカ粒子 / マクロファージ / 炎症 / 肺炎

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Although amorphous silica particles are used in a wide variety of products such as pharmaceuticals and foods, the immunotoxicity of these particles is not fully understood. In this study, we addressed the relationship between the size of amorphous silica and the inflammatory activity. Of note, 30 nm-1000 nm diameter silica particles induced macrophage lysosomal destabilization, cell death, and IL-1β secretion at markedly higher levels than did 3000 nm-10000 nm silica particles. Consistent with in vitro results, intra-tracheal administration of 30 nm silica particles into mice caused more severe lung inflammation than that of 3000 nm silica particles. Taken together, these results suggest that silica particle size impacts immune responses, with submicron amorphous silica particles inducing higher inflammatory responses than silica particles over 1000 nm in size.

Free Research Field

炎症、免疫