Assessment of viability and proliferation ofin vivo silicone-primed lymphocytes afterin vitro re-exposure to silicone

✍ Scribed by Ciapetti, Gabriela ;Granchi, Donatella ;Stea, Susanna ;Cenni, Elisabetta ;Schiavon, Patrizia ;Giuliani, Renzo ;Pizzoferrato, Arturo

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 858 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9304
• DOI: 10.1002/jbm.820290505

✦ Synopsis

The functional response of peripheral blood lymphocytes isolated from 22 patients with silicone gel-filled breast implants was assessed after in vitro re-exposure to silicone.

Using cell culture test methods to quantify proliferation and viability and/or activation of lymphocyte microcultures, i.e., the uptake of tritiated thymidine (3H-TdR uptake test) and the reduction of formazan salts (MTT assay), interesting data were obtained. Peripheral blood lymphocytes purified from patients wearing silicone gel-filled breast implants react in vitro to silicone showing a statistically significant increase of both proliferation and viability, while healthy subjects do not respond on in vitro exposure to silicone. Differences resulted even more statistically signif-icant when patients were divided into two groups depending on the type of surgery they underwent: patients with breast augmentation for aesthetic reasons seem to have an increased responsiveness in vitro to silicone compared to patients who experienced a reconstructive surgery of the breast. Although they are still preliminary, being referred to a limited population, these results suggest that the lymphocytes of patients with silicone gel-filled breast implants could be sensitized in vivo toward silicone; the re-exposure of these cells to silicone leads to a higher functional response which could be looked for by using quantitative in vitro test methods.