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Pulmonary Fibrosis and Ferruginous Bodies Associated with Exposure to Synthetic Fibers
1 Clinical Research Branch, Human Studies Division, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, USA Correspondence: Address correspondence to: Andrew J. Ghio, Campus Box 7315, Human Studies Division, US EPA, 104 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7315, USA; e-mail:ghio.andy{at}epa.gov Exposure to synthetic fibers with employment in textile mills can be associated with an elevated risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD). A mechanism of injury has not been determined. ILD can follow exposures to inorganic fibers (e.g., asbestos) which are associated with a mobilization of iron and catalysis of an oxidative stress. We describe 2 patients with ILD associated with exposure to synthetic textile fibers who demonstrated carbon-based ferruginous bodies suggesting an in vivo accumulation of iron by synthetic fibers after deposition in the lung. These iron-laden bodies varied from perfectly linear fibers to almost particulate matter. Linear structures were irregularly interrupted by deposition of iron-abundant material. The capacity of these synthetic fibers to complex iron and generate an oxidative stress is confirmed in vitro.
Key Words: Textiles • nylon • Dacron • pulmonary fibrosis • pulmonary diseases • pneumoconiosis
Toxicologic Pathology, Vol. 34, No. 6,
723-729 (2006) |
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