Multi-walled carbon nanotubes activate the NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis in M1 macrophages

Exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) induces inflammation leading to chronic lesions in mammalian lungs. The inflammatory response to MWCNTs involves the polarization of macrophages to M1 and M2 cells that regulate the initiation and resolution of inflammation in a time- and context-dependent manner. Here we investigated the effect of MWCNTs on polarized macrophages and their cell fate in cultured human monocytic THP-1 cells followed by polarization to M1 or M2 cells.