Cellular Immune Reactivities in Women with Silicone Breast Implants: a Preliminary Investigation

<p>Association of Silicone Breast Implants, Breast Cancer and Anti-RNA Polymerase III Autoantibodies in Systemic Sclerosis: Case-Based Review</p>

“…It should be noted that the cellular immune response directed against collagen (type I and III), fibronectin and fibrinogen was found to occur more frequently and intensely in women with SBIs, 30 and it should be emphasized that ANAs and a variety of other antibodies were detected in SBI recipients. 31…”

“…Macrophages capable of trapping silicone-containing particles have been shown to induce the release of IL-1b, activate inflammasome and B cells, thus generating an imbalance of regulatory T-cells, response T-cells and the T-helper 17 subpopulation. 2,28,29 It should be noted that the cellular immune response directed against collagen (type I and III), fibronectin and fibrinogen was found to occur more frequently and intensely in women with SBIs, 30 and it should be emphasized that ANAs and a variety of other antibodies were detected in SBI recipients. 31 Focusing on the autoimmune reaction to the RNAP III antigen, the triggering mechanisms have not yet been fully clarified.…”

Restricted and Shared Patterns of TCR β-chain Gene Expression in Silicone Breast Implant Capsules and Remote Sites of Tissue Inflammation

“…This model of epitope or determinant spreading has been well documented for a number of T cell antigens in various experimental and human autoimmune diseases [55,56]. In fact, the generation of abnormal humoral (i.e., autoantibody production) and cellular immune responses to connective tissue proteins has been associated with silicone implantation [19,25,57].…”

“…Several investigators employing in vitro T cell stimulatory assays have suggested that some silicones or siliconeconjugates may themselves provide an antigenic stimulus [5,21,22]. Alternatively, the strong adjuvant properties of certain silicones may render some endogenous proteins immunogenic [7,16,25]. Kossovsky and Freiman proposed that silicone, being very hydrophobic, may act as a powerful denaturant of capsule-associated connective tissue proteins (e.g.…”

“…These data include the presence of chronic lymphocytic infiltrates in SBI capsules [5,[11][12][13], the adjuvant activity of some silicones in animals [16], the development of humoral and cellular immune abnormalities following SBIs [5,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], T cell stimulatory responses induced by silicones in vitro [5,21,22], and case reports describing connective tissue diseases in SBI recipients, some of which resolve following explantation [3,6,[26][27][28][29]. Based upon studies in humans and animals, it is clear that silicone gel diffuses from SBIs at the site of implantation and may migrate to multiple, distant organs and tissues [1, 5-7, 10, 30, 31].…”