• HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Silicosis is on the rise, but is there a therapeutic target?

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
December 6, 2018
in Biology
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: David Gosset / [email protected] facility / CBM / CNRS


Researchers from the CNRS, the University of Orléans, and the company Artimmune, in collaboration with Turkish clinicians from Atatürk University, have identified a key mechanism of lung inflammation induced by silica exposure, which leads to silicosis, an incurable disease. Their study in mice and patients, published in Nature Communications (December 6th, 2018), shows that this inflammation can be prevented by extracellular DNA degradation, suggesting a new therapeutic target.

Provoked by silica inhalation, silicosis is a fatal disease, the only cure being lung transplantation. Though known as a miner’s disease, it is far from a relic of the past (1): new operations using high-pressure sand–like denim sandblasting and fracking in shale gas extraction–expose workers and neighbor residents. Worldwide, silicosis still affects tens of millions of people, especially those active in the construction and mining industries, but also textile and dentistry professionals.

Once in the airways, silica microparticles provoke cell stress and death, and finally, chronic inflammation and fibrosis (replacement of normal lung tissue with scar tissue). This leads to an irreversible reduction in respiratory capacity as silica is not eliminated. This is where Valérie Quesniaux’s team at the Experimental and Molecular Immunology and Neurogenetics research laboratory (CNRS / University of Orléans) steps in. They looked at the mechanism underlying silica-induced lung inflammation.

In mice exposed to silica, the researchers showed that DNA released into the airways upon cell death activates a signaling cascade known as the STING pathway. This pathway triggers lung inflammation that ultimately may develop into silicosis. They also demonstrated that treatment with DNase I, an enzyme that degrades the DNA released into the airways, prevents silica-induced lung inflammation.

The team worked with clinicians who for the last decade have been tracking a 21st-century silicosis epidemic in young men that has affected entire Turkish villages. The culprit is denim sandblasting to give jeans a fashionable used appearance.(2) At Atatürk University, Metin Akgün and his colleagues noted a rise in the quantity of released DNA and inflammatory markers in the blood and sputum of silicosis patients. A high level of STING pathway activity was also detected in the lung tissue of patients with pulmonary fibrosis.

Thus the mechanism discovered in mice exposed to silica seems to also play a role in humans. The scientists’ findings suggest that DNase I, already used in the treatment of other pathologies such as cystic fibrosis, might help patients exposed to silica.

###

This research was jointly funded by the European Union and the Centre-Val de Loire regional authority through a grant from the European Regional Development Fund (no. 2016-00110366).

Notes:

(1) For more information, read https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/using-history-to-heal

(2) Over 96% of workers in this field develop silicosis, the highest known rate of prevalence for this disease. Though now illegal in Turkey, denim sandblasting is still practiced in other countries.

Media Contact
Veronique Etienne
[email protected]
33-144-965-137

Original Source

http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3186.htm

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07425-1

Tags: Cell BiologyDisease in the Developing WorldEnvironmental HealthImmunology/Allergies/AsthmaMedicine/HealthPhysiology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Huanhuan Joyce Chen at PME UChicago

Hunting for the immune cells that predispose people to severe COVID-19

May 24, 2022
Resting State Recorded with ISOI in Squirrel Monkey

Capturing cortical connectivity close-up

May 24, 2022

New gene identified in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

May 24, 2022

Type 2 diabetes accelerates brain aging and cognitive decline

May 24, 2022
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Masks

    Hidden benefit: Facemasks may reduce severity of COVID-19 and pressure on health systems, researchers find

    44 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 11
  • Breakthrough in estimating fossil fuel CO2 emissions

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Discovery of the one-way superconductor, thought to be impossible

    43 shares
    Share 17 Tweet 11
  • Sweet discovery could drive down inflammation, cancers and viruses

    43 shares
    Share 17 Tweet 11

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Tags

Urogenital SystemZoology/Veterinary ScienceVirusVaccinesUrbanizationVehiclesUniversity of WashingtonWeaponryViolence/CriminalsVaccineWeather/StormsVirology

Recent Posts

  • Sunsmart streets using recycled rubber last twice as long
  • Hawk’s eyes may not help the world’s only nocturnal hawk hunt at night
  • Nearly 108,000 overdose deaths in 2021: Pitt team forecast devastating toll five years ago
  • Social dissatisfaction predicts vulnerability to financial exploitation in older adults
  • Contact Us

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Posting....