A spin label study of the effect of chrysotile asbestos on erythrocyte membranes

Our plain-English summary of A spin label study of the effect of chrysotile asbestos on erythrocyte membranes, by E. Gendek, G. Bartosz, W. Leyko (British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1984).

The study

• Authors: E. Gendek, G. Bartosz, W. Leyko
• Journal: British Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1984;41(1):46-50
• Cited by: 7 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Alterations in erythrocyte membranes caused by UICC B chrysotile asbestos fibres were studied in red cell ghosts using the spin label technique. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of two sulphydryl reactive spin labels and one fatty acid spin probe in erythrocyte ghosts showed membrane protein modifications but no changes in lipid fluidity caused by the haemolytic chrysotile asbestos fibres.

In plain English

This was a laboratory experiment on cow red blood cell membranes, not a study of people. The authors prepared red blood cell membranes ("ghosts") from cow blood and treated them with UICC B chrysotile asbestos fibres, mixing 0 to 10 mg of fibres with 0.5 ml of membrane suspension. They attached chemical "spin labels" to the membranes and used electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to look for changes in the membranes' proteins and lipids (fats). Both protein-binding labels showed changes after chrysotile treatment. With one label, the ratio of weakly to strongly immobilised label increased, and every difference from the untreated control had p less than 0.01. With the other label, a measure called the rotational correlation time increased. These protein changes grew larger with higher asbestos doses and longer incubation. The fatty acid label showed no change in the lipid order measure (control value 0.61) after chrysotile treatment. The authors concluded that chrysotile's effect on red cells appeared to be due primarily to interaction of asbestos with membrane proteins.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: laboratory (in vitro) experiment using spin labels and EPR spectroscopy on red blood cell membranes (ghosts) treated with UICC B chrysotile
• Who was studied: red blood cell membranes (ghosts) prepared from citrated cow (bovine) blood
• Exposure: UICC B chrysotile asbestos fibres, 0 to 10 mg mixed with 0.5 ml of membrane suspension
• Main results:
  • Membranes labelled with MSL (a protein-binding label): after chrysotile treatment, the ratio of weakly to strongly immobilised spin label signals increased
  • For the MSL measurements, all differences between chrysotile-treated membranes and control had p less than 0.01
  • Membranes labelled with ISL (a second protein-binding label): chrysotile treatment increased the rotational correlation time of the label
  • The protein changes seen with both labels grew larger with higher asbestos dose and longer incubation time
  • Membranes labelled with the fatty acid probe 5NS: the lipid order parameter was 0.61 in control membranes, and no change was observed after chrysotile treatment
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that chrysotile's effect on red cells appeared to be due primarily to interaction of asbestos with membrane proteins, and that their results did not support an earlier suggestion that the effect came from extraction of membrane lipids

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Chrysotile.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chrysotile, UICC.

Related studies

• A spin label study of the effects of asbestos, quartz, and titanium dioxide dusts on the bovine erythrocyte membrane — W. Leyko, E. Gendek (1985)
• Interactions of chrysotile asbestos with erythrocyte membranes — A.R. Brody, L.H. Hill (1983)
• Interaction of erythrocyte membranes with particulates — A.C. Ottolenghi, L.B. Joseph, et al. (1983)
• Changes in lipid ordering of model phospholipid membranes treated with chrysotile and crocidolite asbestos — E.G. Gendek, A.R. Brody (1990)
• Influence of the sialic acid content of the membrane on its susceptibility to chrysotile — J. Depasse (1982)
• Hemolysis by chrysotile asbestos fibers. I. Influence of the sialic acid content in human, rat, and sheep red blood cell membranes — J.P. Pelé, R. Calvert (1983)

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