The Inflammatory Response of Respiratory System to Metal Nanoparticle Exposure and Its Suppression by Redox Active Agent and Cytokine Therapy

Abstract

Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly being developed for needs of electronic, pharmaceutical and chemical industry. Manufactured NPs as a specific subset of ultrafine particles being suspended in air may pose a hazard to human health. Exposures to nanosized airborne metals facilitate respiratory irritation and lung inflammation. The lung is the target portal of environmental and engineered nanopollutants that lead to exacerbation of respiratory diseases, increased risk of infection, allergy and cardiopulmonary mortality. Inflammatory challenge causes hypoxia of tissues. Potential risks of widespread nanoengineered products should be carefully evaluated. The new nanoproducts for therapeutic and diagnostic applications were emerged in pharmaceutical market. The safety and potential hazards of new nanomaterials are not examined properly. Revelation of indicators of pathophysiological response determinants in the reactivity of respiratory tracts is of a great significance, on one hand, for understanding the mechanisms of nanotoxicity of new ultradispersed materials and, on the other hand, for improvement of clinical-diagnostic procedures of studying lung cancer by magnetic-resonance imaging technique (MRI) (Rinck, 2001). The diagnostic efficiency of MRI in elucidation of malignant feature of lung lesion can be improved with the use of contrast agents. The variety of contrast agents for MRI involves a series of preparations on the basis of magnetic NPs of iron oxides. The iron-containing contrast agents are widely used in clinical diagnostics of liver and spleen diseases and in angioplastics due to low toxicity of iron NPs, their ability for prolonged existence in blood flow, and high nonspecific ability of reticular-endothelium system of liver to absorb the dispersed particles (Wang et al., 2001). A contrast agent for increasing contrast of lung tissue in the MRI technique can be delivered by inhalation through respiratory airways. Successful clinical trials of gadolinium chelate inhalation showed a possibility of scanning time reduction in the MRI experiment (Haage et al., 2005). Further development of inhalation procedure of contrasting is governed by the knowledge of the contra-indication pattern, doses, and the scheme of preparation administration. A wide application of iron-containing contrast agents in diagnostics of lung pathology by NMR tomography is determined by