Open AccessEnvironmental pollutants damage airway epithelial cell cilia: Implications for the prevention of obstructive lung diseases
Author(s) -
Cao Yu,
Chen Miao,
Dong Dan,
Xie Songbo,
Liu Min
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
thoracic cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1759-7714
pISSN - 1759-7706
DOI - 10.1111/1759-7714.13323
Subject(s) - cilium , mucociliary clearance , airway , medicine , respiratory tract , lung , pollutant , respiratory epithelium , motile cilium , respiratory system , epithelium , microbiology and biotechnology , pathology , immunology , anatomy , biology , anesthesia , ecology
Mucociliary epithelium lining the upper and lower respiratory tract constitutes the first line of defense of the airway and lungs against inhaled pollutants and pathogens. The concerted beating of multiciliated cells drives mucociliary clearance. Abnormalities in both the structure and function of airway cilia have been implicated in obstructive lung diseases. Emerging evidence reveals a close correlation between lung diseases and environmental stimuli such as sulfur dioxide and tobacco particles. However, the underlying mechanism remains to be described. In this review, we emphasize the importance of airway cilia in mucociliary clearance and discuss how environmental pollutants affect the structure and function of airway cilia, thus shedding light on the function of airway cilia in preventing obstructive lung diseases and revealing the negative effects of environmental pollutants on human health.