Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hornung V
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2834784 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Hornung Veit V Bauernfeind Franz F Halle Annett A Samstad Eivind O EO Kono Hajime H Rock Kenneth L KL Fitzgerald Katherine A KA Latz Eicke E
Nature immunology 20080711 8
Inhalation of silica crystals causes inflammation in the alveolar space. Prolonged exposure to silica can lead to the development of silicosis, an irreversible, fibrotic pulmonary disease. The mechanisms by which silica and other crystals activate immune cells are not well understood. Here we demonstrate that silica and aluminum salt crystals activated inflammasomes formed by the cytoplasmic receptor NALP3. NALP3 activation required phagocytosis of crystals, and this uptake subsequently led to l ...[more]