title: Pulmonary functional and morphological damage after exposure to tripoli dust.
abstract: Tripoli is a microcrystalline siliceous rock used to polish metals and precious stones. Its inhalation has been associated with increased prevalence of breathing complaints and pneumoconiosis. However, its acute human exposure has not been so far studied. We aimed at evaluating the putative mechanical, morphological, biochemical and inflammatory lung damage in mice acutely exposed to Tripoli dust. BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to 2 groups: In control group (CTRL, n=6) animals received intratracheally (i.t.) 0.9% NaCl (50μl), while Tripoli group (TRIP, n=15) received 20mg of Tripoli powder diluted in 50μL of saline i.t. The experiments were done 15 days later. TRIP mice showed higher pulmonary mechanical impedance, polymorphonuclear cells, TNF-α, IL1-β and IL-6 than CTRL. TRIP presented granulomatous nodules containing collagenous fibers that occupied 35% of the lung tissue area. In conclusion, acute exposure to Tripoli dust triggered important lung damage in mice lungs that if found in human workers could trigger severe illness.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariana Nascimento
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aline Cunha
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo Hilário Nascimento
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Saldiva
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Débora Souza
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Faffe
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address: walter_zin@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Walter Araujo
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Zin
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015769:Granuloma, Respiratory Tract / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011897:Random Allocation; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000633:toxicity; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; C587672:IL1B protein, mouse; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C577686:interleukin-6, mouse; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: Granuloma; Inflammation; Lung mechanics; Silicosis; Tripoli dust