title: The role of asbestos morphology on their cellular toxicity: an in vitro 3D Raman/Rayleigh imaging study.
abstract: Amphiboles caused cohorts of deaths in exposed workers, leading to some of the largest class actions in the industry. Once inhaled, these inorganic fibers are thought to be both chemically and morphologically toxic, and their biopersistence in the lungs over decades lead to progressive pathologies, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. However, this exceptionally long chronicity for human pathologies suggests that chemical toxicity is certainly low, suggesting that morphological parameters could be more relevant in the pathology. Here, we developed a 3D Raman/optical imaging methodology in vitro to characterize both morphological and chemical parameters of cell/fiber interactions. We determined that lung cells could vesiculate amphiboles with length below 5 μm or could embed those not exceeding 15 μm in their fibrous extracellular matrix. Lung cells can thus develop defense strategies for handling the biopersistence of inorganic species, which may thus have major impact for biosafety issues related to nanomaterials.
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux, Inserm U1029, Avenue des Facultés, Bat. B2, 33405, Talence-Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Seydou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux, Inserm U1029, Avenue des Facultés, Bat. B2, 33405, Talence-Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Seydou
authors.forename: Hsiang-Hsin
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harte
authors.forename: Giancarlo Della
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Petibois