Skip to main content
PMC home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1974 Dec;9:271–279. doi: 10.1289/ehp.749271

Fibrogenesis

J S Harington
PMCID: PMC1475423  PMID: 4377874

Abstract

A review of fibrogenesis by asbestos fibers is given. There is nothing to indicate that the fibrogenic effects of inhaled asbestos fibers should differ in any way from those of ingested asbestos. Recently, ingestion has assumed some importance concerning human exposure. Three sections dealing with the process of fibrogenesis are covered: the first deals with in vitro fibrogenesis, in particular the interrelation of macrophages damaged by dusts and the subsequent laying down of collagen by fibroblasts in culture; the second deals with in vivo fibrogenesis after the inoculation of extracts of silica-treated macrophages into various animals, and the third, with the fibrogenicity of a wide variety of mineral fibers in man and experimental animals.

Recent studies described in the first section of the present review appear to offer a better understanding of the effects of macrophages on fibroblasts after tissue damage of various kinds has occurred.

Full text

PDF
278

Images in this article

273FIGURE 2. A
on p.273
273FIGURE 2. B
on p.273

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allison A. C., Harington J. S., Birbeck M. An examination of the cytotoxic effects of silica on macrophages. J Exp Med. 1966 Aug 1;124(2):141–154. doi: 10.1084/jem.124.2.141. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Allison A. C. Lysosomes and the toxicity of particulate pollutants. Arch Intern Med. 1971 Jul;128(1):131–139. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bey E., Harington J. S. Cytotoxic effects of some mineral dusts on Syrian hamster peritoneal macrophages. J Exp Med. 1971 May 1;133(5):1149–1169. doi: 10.1084/jem.133.5.1149. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burrell R., Anderson M. The induction of fibrogenesis by silica-treated alveolar macrophages. Environ Res. 1973 Dec;6(4):389–394. doi: 10.1016/0013-9351(73)90054-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Davis J. M. The fibrogenic effects of mineral dusts injected into the pleural cavity of mice. Br J Exp Pathol. 1972 Apr;53(2):190–201. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gross P., De Treville R. T. Experimental asbestosis. Studies on the progressiveness of the pulmonary fibrosis caused by chrysotile dust. Arch Environ Health. 1967 Nov;15(5):638–649. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1967.10664980. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. HARINGTON J. S. Some biological actions of silica: their part in the pathogenesis of silicosis. S Afr Med J. 1963 Apr 20;37:451–456. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. HEPPLESTON A. G., MORRIS T. G. THE PROGRESSION OF EXPERIMENTAL SILICOSIS: THE INFLUENCE OF EXPOSURE TO 'INERT' DUST. Am J Pathol. 1965 Jun;46:945–958. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. HEPPLESTON A. G. The disposal of inhaled particulate matter; a unifying hypothesis. Am J Pathol. 1963 Feb;42:119–135. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Harington J. S., Allison A. C. Lysosomal enzymes in relation to the toxicity of silica. Med Lav. 1965 Jun-Jul;56(6):471–484. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Harington J. S. Investigative techniques in the laboratory study of coal workers' pneumoconiosis: recent advances at the cellular level. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1972 Dec 29;200:816–834. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1972.tb40243.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Harington J. S., Macnab G. M., Miller K., King P. C. Enhancement of haemolytic activity of asbestos by heat-labile factors in fresh serum. Med Lav. 1971 Apr;62(4):171–176. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Harington J. S., Miller K., Macnab G. Hemolysis by asbestos. Environ Res. 1971 Apr;4(2):95–117. doi: 10.1016/0013-9351(71)90038-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Harington J. S., Ritchie M., King P. C., Miller K. The in-vitro effects of silica-treated hamster macrophages on collagen production by hamster fibroblasts. J Pathol. 1973 Jan;109(1):21–37. doi: 10.1002/path.1711090104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Heppleston A. G. Atypical reaction to inhaled silica. Nature. 1967 Jan 14;213(5072):199–199. doi: 10.1038/213199a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Heppleston A. G., Styles J. A. Activity of a macrophage factor in collagen formation by silica. Nature. 1967 Apr 29;214(5087):521–522. doi: 10.1038/214521a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Heppleston A. G. The fibrogenic action of silica. Br Med Bull. 1969 Sep;25(3):282–287. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a070719. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Heppleston A. G., Wright N. A., Stewart J. A. Experimental alveolar lipo-proteinosis following the inhalation of silica. J Pathol. 1970 Aug;101(4):293–307. doi: 10.1002/path.1711010402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. McGee J. O., O'Hare R. P., Patrick R. S. Stimulation of the collagen biosynthetic pathway by factors isolated from experimentally-injured liver. Nat New Biol. 1973 May 23;243(125):121–123. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Miller K., Harington J. S. Some biochemical effects of asbestos on macrophages. Br J Exp Pathol. 1972 Aug;53(4):397–405. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Richards R. J., Wusteman F. S., Dodgson K. S. The direct effects of dusts on lung fibroblasts grown in vitro. Life Sci I. 1971 Oct 15;10(20):1149–1159. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(71)90275-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Smith B. A., Davis J. M. The association of phagocytosed asbestos dust with lysosome enzymes. J Pathol. 1971 Nov;105(3):153–157. doi: 10.1002/path.1711050302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Vigliani E. C. The fibrogenic response to asbestos. Med Lav. 1968 Jun-Jul;59(6):401–410. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES