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A guide to crystal‐related and nano‐ or microparticle‐related tissue responses
Author(s) -
Mulay Shrikant R.,
Steiger Stefanie,
Shi Chongxu,
Anders HansJoachim
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the febs journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.981
H-Index - 204
eISSN - 1742-4658
pISSN - 1742-464X
DOI - 10.1111/febs.15174
Subject(s) - inflammation , granuloma formation , fibrosis , nanotechnology , microscale chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , pathology , materials science , biophysics , chemistry , biology , medicine , immunology , granuloma , psychology , mathematics education
Crystals and nano‐ and microparticles form inside the human body from intrinsic proteins, minerals, or metabolites or enter the body as particulate matter from occupational and environmental sources. Associated tissue injuries and diseases mostly develop from cellular responses to such crystal deposits and include inflammation, cell necrosis, granuloma formation, tissue fibrosis, and stone‐related obstruction of excretory organs. But how do crystals and nano‐ and microparticles trigger these biological processes? Which pathomechanisms are identical across different particle types, sizes, and shapes? In addition, which mechanisms are specific to the atomic or molecular structure of crystals or to specific sizes or shapes? Do specific cellular or molecular mechanisms qualify as target for therapeutic interventions? Here, we provide a guide to approach this diverse and multidisciplinary research domain. We give an overview about the clinical spectrum of crystallopathies, about shared and specific pathomechanisms as a conceptual overview before digging deeper into the specialty field of interest.