Airways microbiota: Hidden Trojan horses in asbestos exposed individuals?

Medical Hypothese. 2014 September 19. [Epub ahead of print] Link

Magouliotis DE, Taslopoulou VS, Molyvdas PA, Gourgoulianis KI, Jatzoglou C, Zarogiannis SG.

Abstract

Malignant pleura mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare type of cancer with devastating prognosis, which develops in the pleural cavity from transformed mesothelium. MPM has been directly associated with asbestos exposure however there are aspects of the pathophysiology involved in the translocation of asbestos fibers in the pleura that remain unclear. Here, we propose and discuss that certain proteins secreted by airways symbiotic microbiota create membrane pores to the airway epithelial cells, through which asbestos fibers can penetrate the lung parenchyma and reach the sub-pleural areas. We evaluate this hypothesis using data from the published literature regarding the airways microbiota toxins such as cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs).