ABSTRACT
Nanotechnology is a rapidly developing industry that promises great societal and economic benets. In particular, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have enormous potential for innovation in the elds of engineering, electronics, and medicine. However, recent reviews of the scientic literature predict that CNTs will be a risk for lung diseases, particularly pulmonary brosis and granuloma formation, related to occupational and perhaps consumer exposure (Bonner 2010a, Bonner 2011). Inhalation studies using mice or rats demonstrate that CNTs deposit reach the alveolar regions in the lung and also migrate to the subpleural tissues beneath the mesothelial lining of the lung, where they remain embedded in the extracellular matrix or within resident lung cells for months following exposure (Ryman-Rasmussen et al. 2009a). CNTs also localize in lymphoid tissues (Ma-Hock et al. 2009, Pauluhn 2010) and stimulate systemic immune effects that inuence extra-pulmonary tissues and organs such as the spleen and heart (Mitchell et al. 2007, 2009). In addition, genetic and environmental factors inuence susceptibility to CNT-induced lung diseases in rodents. For example, CNTs exacerbate allergen-induced airway inammation in mice (RymanRasmussen et al. 2009b). The aim of this chapter is to summarize the uptake, fate, and effects of CNTs following pulmonary exposure to rodents to predict possible
10.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 213 10.2 Lung Deposition and Translocation of Nanotubes ....................................... 214 10.3 Acute Responses ........................................................................................... 216
10.3.1 Macrophage-Mediated Uptake and Clearance ................................. 216 10.3.2 Cellular Responses to Nanotubes ..................................................... 217
10.4 Pathological Effects ...................................................................................... 219 10.4.1 Fibrosis and Granuloma Formation .................................................. 219 10.4.2 Pleural Disease and Cancer .............................................................. 221 10.4.3 Effects of CNTs beyond Lungs .........................................................224 10.4.4 Susceptibility Factors ........................................................................224
