Abstract
The fate of nanoparticles reaching the alveolar lung is not completely understood. Clearance of
these particles has been ascribed to the alveolar macrophages scavenging this region. In contrast,
in my thesis, I show in vitro, that particles interact more strongly with the alveolar epithelial cells
(AECs) than alveolar macrophages (AMs), are then taken up efficiently and transported across
the cells and released on the basolateral side. First, I developed a protocol for obtaining a pure
culture of rat AEC. Single cell force spectroscopy showed the AEC to respond strongly and in a
clathrin-independent manner to the particles, unlike a host of control cells, including alveolar
macrophages. Fluorescence light microscopy and total internal reflection fluorescence light
microscopy (TIRF) demonstrated the transport to be novel, actin-dependent and microtubule
independent. In summary, my thesis provides evidence of a second clearance mechanism in
addition to AMs.
