EMT, Asbestos and mesothelial Cells

Asbestos is the common name for a group of hydrated silicates, with a fibrous appearance, which are found commonly in nature. Fibres exposure increases the risk of inflammatory disease development, such as pleural effusion, pleural plaques and asbestosis (asbestos induced pulmonary fibrosis). Moreover, clinical features of malignant pathologies associated with asbestos exposure are Malignant Mesothelioma (MM), a fatal tumor arising from mesothelial cells, and lung cancer. Both asbestosis and MM clinical features have been associated to the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), a series of biochemical and morpho-structural events implicated in fibrosis development and in cancer progression. In epithelial cells, the EMT drives cells to lose their epithelial characteristics in favor of a phenotype of mesenchymal nature. Some EMT markers confirm the EMT event, such as the downregulation of E-Cadherin and the overexpression of Fibronectin. Conditions of hypoxia and numerous growth factors are implicated in EMT induction. Among these factors, TGF plays an important role in pathological processes of the lung, such as fibrosis and cancer, and it is involved in cell proliferation.