Lison D, Lauwerys R
Industrial Toxicology and Occupational Medicine Unit, Catholic University of Louvain, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Toxicol In Vitro. 1995 Jun;9(3):341-7. doi: 10.1016/0887-2333(94)00211-c.
Chronic inhalation of hard metal particles can produce an interstitial lung disease (hard metal disease). Recent studies on rats and on isolated alveolar and peritoneal macrophages have demonstrated that this disorder can be explained by an interaction between cobalt metal (Co) and tungsten carbide (WC) particles, which represent the main constituents of hard metal. The exact mechanism of this interaction is still undefined. The present study was undertaken to assess in vitro whether a similar interaction also occurs between cobalt and other metallic carbide particles which may also be incorporated in hard metals depending on the desired applications. When tested separately, Co and metallic carbide particles did not affect the cell integrity. In contrast, TiC, NbC and Cr(3)C(2) exerted a synergistic effect with Co (interactive carbides) while TaC, Mo(2)C and SiC did not (non-interactive carbides). The interaction did not simply result from an increased cobalt bioavailability since cobalt uptake by the macrophages was increased 4-7-fold in the presence of interactive as well as non-interactive carbides. The interactive effect appeared dependent on the size of the carbide particles, which suggests that a physicochemical reaction taking place at the interface between certain carbides and cobalt particles may be responsible for the toxicity of the Co-carbide mixture. Other non-carbide particles (Fe, diamond, crystalline silica) did not produce a similar interaction with cobalt. This observation may contribute to the better delineation of the pathogenesis of hard metal disease.
长期吸入硬质金属颗粒可导致间质性肺病（硬质金属病）。最近对大鼠以及分离出的肺泡巨噬细胞和腹腔巨噬细胞的研究表明，这种病症可由钴金属（Co）与碳化钨（WC）颗粒之间的相互作用来解释，而这两种物质是硬质金属的主要成分。这种相互作用的确切机制仍不明确。本研究旨在体外评估钴与其他金属碳化物颗粒之间是否也会发生类似的相互作用，这些金属碳化物颗粒也可能因所需应用而被纳入硬质金属中。单独测试时，Co和金属碳化物颗粒不会影响细胞完整性。相比之下，TiC、NbC和Cr(3)C(2)与Co产生协同效应（相互作用碳化物），而TaC、Mo(2)C和SiC则不会（非相互作用碳化物）。这种相互作用并非仅仅源于钴生物利用度的提高，因为在存在相互作用碳化物和非相互作用碳化物的情况下，巨噬细胞对钴的摄取增加了4至7倍。这种相互作用效应似乎取决于碳化物颗粒的大小，这表明在某些碳化物与钴颗粒之间的界面发生的物理化学反应可能是钴 - 碳化物混合物毒性的原因。其他非碳化物颗粒（Fe、金刚石、结晶二氧化硅）与钴不会产生类似的相互作用。这一观察结果可能有助于更好地阐明硬质金属病的发病机制。
