BiominAB-3D · Revealing the composition and formation mechanism of carcinogenic asbestos bodies in human lungs
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-05-01 → 2018-05-22
- EU contribution
- €180,277
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Revealing the composition and formation mechanism of carcinogenic asbestos bodies in human lungs
Occupational exposure to asbestos is universally associated with several lung injuries, including respiratory diseases, asbestosis, mesothelioma, and, owing to others co-factors, lung cancer. Pleural malignant mesothelioma, in particular, is highly deadly, the 5-year survival rate being of 5% only (1 over 20). In addition, due to weathering of asbestos-reinforced cement products, asbestos contamination is also becoming of concern for the general population, in particular in urban areas. Asbestos can enter in living organisms by inhalation and, also due to its high bio-persistence, can manifest its toxicity after 20 to 40 years. For these reason asbestos remains a current major worldwide health threat, although, starting from the 1990s, it was banned in most countries and it is almost abolished today, with a few relevant exceptions (Russia, China, Canada, and Brazil). In fact, it is foreseen that the peak of mesothelioma cases in the world will be reached within 2020. At a world scale, the US National Institute of Health (NIH) estimated that 11 million people were exposed to asbestos between 1940 and 1978. These figures push to the conclusion that extensive research on asbestos interaction with host organism can have an impact on a large number of people in Europe and worldwide. Once penetrated into the lungs of exposed people, asbestos fibers irritate the tissue, causing minerals and proteins to cluster around the foreign fibers in a process known as biomineralization. The resulting clusters are referred to as asbestos bodies. A satisfactory knowledge of the elemental composition and fine structure of the asbestos bodies, and a solid model of their formation mechanism is still lacking, preventing the formulation of the carcinogenic mechanism. The aim of this research project was therefore to obtain a solid morphological, structural, elemental, and chemical characterization of the asbestos bodies in human lung tissue, and to achieve this aim, the project is organized in the following tasks: - Revealing the morphology and elemental composition of the asbestos bodies with unprecedented level of detail and sensitivity; - Providing reliable and spatially resolved elemental quantification; - Detecting possible structural and chemical modifications occurring to the fibers after prolonged stay in the lungs. These objectives were achieved by combining advanced synchrotron radiation micro-probe tools with electron microscopy techniques and laboratory analyses and the acquired knowledge allowed to propose a model for the formation mechanims of the asbestos bodies.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
When it is inhaled, asbestos triggers a chain of events that can lead to mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lung lining, and to lung cancer. After prolonged stay in the lungs the asbestos fibers develop an iron coating that is thought to be responsible for the cytotoxic response, and which nature is still unclear. The fibres with their coating, developed after prolonged stay in human lungs, are known as asbestos bodies. Despite the large and increasing incidence of respiratory/pulmonary diseases among the general population due to asbestos and other toxic fibers, the carcinogenic mechanism is not yet fully understood. A deeper knowledge of the interaction between the fibers and the biological tissue can help scientists to develop more efficient medical treatments and to improve prevention strategies. The proposed research project aims to reveal the composition and formation mechanism of asbestos bodies combining cutting-edge synchrotron radiation fluorescence and imaging microtomography and microdiffraction with transmission electron microscopy. Synchrotron radiation techniques will allow revealing the elemental distribution and morphology of unaltered lung tissue samples with unprecedented level of detail, preserving their tridimensional structure. Microdiffraction and transmission electron microscopy will reveal possible degradation of the embedded asbestos fibres, which is a long standing question. The project will exploit an innovative collaboration between physicists, chemists, doctors, and biologists. In particular, physics techniques usually employed in the field of fundamental research or in material science will be combined with laboratory methodologies, creating an environment favourable for breaking-through results. The methodologies developed during the project can be extended to the study of other toxic particulate, such as vehicular or industrial particulate matter and man-made nanoparticles, which are of increasing concern for human health.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE · RomaCoordinatorItaly
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union