SELECTED NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ASBESTOS IMMUNOTOXICITY

Research over the past three decades has shown that the mammalian immu ne system can be altered by the occupational exposure of asbestos. Ear ly clinical studies generally focused on systemic observations of immu ne alteration such as the number and function of peripheral lymphocyte s and monocytes. More recently as the regulatory influence of local im munity in health and disease becomes more defined, immunologic changes occurring in the lung, the primary target organ of asbestos, have bee n significant areas of investigation. This review will locus on recent studies that examine the influence of asbestos on pulmonary immunity as well as the role of host immune competence in asbestos-related dise ase.