Recent advances in the study of the mechanisms of silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis

Abstract

A review was made on the recent advances in the study on the pathogenesis of silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Alveolar macrophages which ingest silica particles liberate a fibrogenic factor, which stimulates the production of collagen of cultured fibroblasts. Silica deposited in the alveoli augments the demand of macrophages, the supply of which is maintained by monocytes recruited from the bone marrow. Attempts to demonstrate in vitro the presence of a fibrogenic factor in the supernatant of macrophages have been made in many laboratories, and an in vivo model utilizing diffusion chambers implanted in mice has been used by some investigators. A fibrogenic factor has been isolated and purified from the medium of silica-treated macrophages. Recent advances in immunological studies have demonstrated that silica stimulates macrophages to release monokines such as interleukin 1 (IL-1) and that IL-1 has chemical properties identical to the fibrogenic factor, which enhances the level of collagen production by modulating the proliferation of fibroblasts. Silica inhibits the suppressive effects of macrophages on fibroblasts. The increased protein synthesis in the fibroblasts is due partly to increase in mRNA. Collagen synthesis is stimulated not only by the fibrogenic factor released from silica-treated macrophages but also by the inhibition of macrophage ribonuclease activity. Information on the number of cells, collagen content and protease activity in the lung as well as in the bronchopulmonary lavage fluid has provided us a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis.