Asbestos in organs and placenta of five stillborn infants suggests transplacental transfer

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos in organs and placenta of five stillborn infants suggests transplacental transfer, by A.K. Haque, M.G. Mancuso, M.G. Williams, et al (Environmental Research, 1992).

The study

• Authors: A.K. Haque, M.G. Mancuso, M.G. Williams, R.F. Dodson
• Journal: Environmental Research
• Published: 1992;58(2):163-75
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004885).

Abstract

Digests of lungs, liver, and placenta from five stillborn infants of 22 to 38 weeks gestational age were examined for asbestos and other fibers using light and electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and selected area diffraction analysis. Uncoated chrysotile asbestos fibers were found in the digests of at least one of the three tissues examined from each stillborn infant. The asbestos fiber burdens ranged from 71,000 to 357,000 fibers/g wet tissue. Most of the fibers were small, with the mean length ranging from 0.83 to 2.53 microns. While appreciable numbers of uncoated chrysotile fibers were present, no coated asbestos fibers were found in any of the stillborns. Both coated and uncoated nonasbestos fibers were found in at least one of the tissue digests of all five stillborns. The uncoated nonasbestos fibers were characterized as aluminum silicates, diatomaceous earth fragments, or other fibers. The coated nonasbestos fibers or ferruginous bodies were consistent with being formed on diatomaceous earth fragments, black carbon cores, or sheet silicate cores. Since the placenta is the only route of communication between the fetus and the outside environment, our findings strongly suggest a transplacental transfer of asbestos and other fibers in humans.

In plain English

This study examined tissue from five stillborn infants, 22 to 38 weeks' gestational age, who were autopsied at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The authors dissolved samples of lung, liver and placenta and searched them for asbestos and other fibers using light and electron microscopy. They identified fibers by their chemical makeup and diffraction patterns. Uncoated chrysotile asbestos fibers were found in at least one of the three tissues from every infant. Four of five lungs held 71,000 to 267,000 chrysotile fibers per gram of wet tissue, two livers held 90,000 and 127,000, and three placentas held 208,000 to 357,000. No asbestos was detected in the lungs of the 22-week infant, and no amphibole fibers were detected in any infant. Most fibers were small. No typical coated asbestos bodies were seen, but coated non-asbestos fibers (ferruginous bodies) were. Diatomaceous earth fragments and other mineral fibers were also found. The authors concluded that the findings suggest chrysotile and other fibers cross the placenta in humans, and called for studies of more stillborns.

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: Autopsy tissue analysis of a small series of stillborn infants (lung, liver and placenta digests examined by light and analytical electron microscopy)
• Who was studied: Five stillborn infants of 22 to 38 weeks gestational age autopsied at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; dates not given
• Exposure: No maternal exposure was measured. The study measured fibers found in fetal tissues and placenta: chrysotile asbestos, amphiboles (none found), and non-asbestos fibers such as aluminum silicates and diatomaceous earth fragments. Parents' occupations were listed (e.g., the father of one infant was a construction worker).
• Main results:
  • Lung digests of four of five stillborn infants contained 71,000 to 267,000 chrysotile fibers per gram of wet tissue
  • Liver digests of two stillborn infants contained 90,000 and 127,000 chrysotile fibers per gram of wet tissue
  • Placentas of three stillborn infants contained 208,000 to 357,000 chrysotile fibers per gram of wet tissue
  • No asbestos fibers were detected in the lungs of the 22-week stillborn infant
  • No amphibole fibers were detected in any of the five stillborn infants
  • Most chrysotile fibers were small, with mean length per infant ranging from 0.83 to 2.53 micrometers
  • Light microscopy found no typical asbestos bodies in any stillborn infant
  • Coated non-asbestos fibers (ferruginous bodies) were found in all five lung and liver digests and in four of five placentas
  • Diatomaceous earth fragments, where found, ranged from 63,000 to 500,000 fibers per gram of wet tissue
  • Other mineral fibers (aluminum silicate, silicon, titanium) were found in five of five lungs and placentas and four of five livers, at 60,000 to 858,000 fibers per gram of wet tissue
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, since the placenta is the fetus's only route to the outside world, the findings suggest transplacental transfer of chrysotile asbestos and other fibers in humans
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors said studies of larger numbers of stillborns are needed to identify possible relationships between maternal diseases and fetal asbestos fiber burdens

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chrysotile, Fiber Burden, Tissue Digestion, Silicate, Ferruginous Bodies.

Related studies

• Assessment of asbestos burden in the placenta and tissue digests of stillborn infants in South Texas — A.K. Haque, D.M. Vrazel, et al. (1998)
• Placental transfer of asbestos — H.M. Cunningham, R.D. Pontefract (1974)
• Transplacental transfer of asbestos in pregnant mice — A.K. Haque, D.M. Vrazel (1998)
• Teratogenicity of asbestos in mice — T. Fujitani, M. Hojo, et al. (2014)
• Tissue distribution of a coelomic-epithelium-related antigen recognized by the monoclonal antibody OC125 — S.E. Kabawat, R.C. Bast, et al. (1983)
• Chrysotile asbestos fibers detected in the newborn pups following gavage feeding of pregnant mice — A.K. Haque, I. Ali, et al. (2001)

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