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Figure 2 | Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Figure 2

From: Asbestos, carbon nanotubes and the pleural mesothelium: a review of the hypothesis regarding the role of long fibre retention in the parietal pleura, inflammation and mesothelioma

Figure 2

The frustrated phagocytosis paradigm as it relates to long and short fibres of asbestos (left) and various forms of carbon nanotubes (right). When confronted by short asbestos fibres or tangled, compact carbon nanotube 'particles' the macrophage can enclose them and clear them. However the macrophage cannot extend itself sufficiently to enclose long asbestos or long nanotubes, resulting in incomplete or frustrated phagocytosis, which leads to inflammation.

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Particle and Fibre Toxicology

ISSN: 1743-8977

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