title: Airways microbiota: Hidden Trojan horses in asbestos exposed individuals?
abstract: Malignant pleura mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare type of cancer with devastating prognosis, which develops in the pleural cavity from transformed mesothelium. MPM has been directly associated with asbestos exposure however there are aspects of the pathophysiology involved in the translocation of asbestos fibers in the pleura that remain unclear. Here, we propose and discuss that certain proteins secreted by airways symbiotic microbiota create membrane pores to the airway epithelial cells, through which asbestos fibers can penetrate the lung parenchyma and reach the sub-pleural areas. We evaluate this hypothesis using data from the published literature regarding the airways microbiota toxins such as cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs).
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Thessaly Medical School, BIOPOLIS, Larissa 41110, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Magouliotis
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Thessaly Medical School, BIOPOLIS, Larissa 41110, Greece.
authors.forename: Vasiliki S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Tasiopoulou
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Thessaly Medical School, BIOPOLIS, Larissa 41110, Greece.
authors.forename: Paschalis-Adam
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Molyvdas
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Thessaly Medical School, BIOPOLIS, Larissa 41110, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Gourgoulianis
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Thessaly Medical School, BIOPOLIS, Larissa 41110, Greece; Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Thessaly Medical School, BIOPOLIS, Larissa 41110, Greece.
authors.forename: Chrissi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hatzoglou
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Thessaly Medical School, BIOPOLIS, Larissa 41110, Greece; Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Thessaly Medical School, BIOPOLIS, Larissa 41110, Greece. Electronic address: szarog@med.uth.gr.
authors.forename: Sotirios G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Zarogiannis
mesh_terms: D001194:Asbestos / Q000633:toxicity*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000737:chemistry; D003603:Cytotoxins / Q000737:chemistry; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000086002:Mesothelioma, Malignant; D064307:Microbiota; D008954:Models, Biological; D010994:Pleura / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011379:Prognosis; D034367:Streptococcus intermedius; D034361:Streptococcus mitis; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes
chemical_list: D003603:Cytotoxins; D001194:Asbestos; D002784:Cholesterol