Publication
Title
A new danger in the air : how pulmonary innate immunity copes with man-made Airborne xenobiotics
Author
Abstract
The pulmonary innate immune system has evolved over millions of years to provide swift detection of inhaled microbial agents and trigger well-balanced protective responses. Much more recent on the evolutionary scale is human activity, which has resulted in the release of a new class of potentially harmful, non-microbial compounds into the air. These xenobiotics include combustion by-products such as reactive oxygen species and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This review will summarize evidence showing how airborne xenobiotics can engage pulmonary innate immunity components at many levels. We will focus on potential effects of xenobiotics on airway dendritic cells, as these constitute key innate immune sensors in the lung, with the unique ability to initiate adaptive immunity. We propose that the aberrant processing of inhaled xenobiotics by an innate immune system that is now evolutionarily maladapted underlies the increase in chronic inflammatory lung diseases in modern times.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of innate immunity
Publication
2010
ISSN
1662-811X
1662-8128
DOI
10.1159/000243784
Volume/pages
2 :2 (2010) , p. 96-106
ISI
000274768800002
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 28.11.2014
Last edited 07.02.2023
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