Formation of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine by asbestos and man made mineral fibres

Our plain-English summary of Formation of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine by asbestos and man made mineral fibres, by P. Leanderson, P. Söderkvist, C. Tagesson, et al (British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1988).

The study

• Authors: P. Leanderson, P. Söderkvist, C. Tagesson, O. Axelson
• Journal: British Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1988;45(5):309-11
• Cited by: 47 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Samples of rockwool and glass fibre were compared with chrysotile fibres for their capacity to hydroxylate 2-deoxyguanosine to 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, a reaction that is mediated by formation of hydroxyl radicals. All three fibres produced 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in the absence of H2O2. The chrysotile fibres were most potent and produced about ten times more of the modified nucleoside than rockwool and glass fibre. This investigation shows that not only asbestos but also man made mineral fibres are able to modify nucleosides.

In plain English

This was a test-tube laboratory experiment, with no cells, animals or people, done in Linköping, Sweden. The authors tested whether chrysotile asbestos and two man made mineral fibres, rockwool and glass fibre, could convert deoxyguanosine, a DNA building block, into a modified form called 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG). This reaction is mediated by hydroxyl radicals. Samples of 45 mg of each fibre were incubated with deoxyguanosine in buffer at 37°C for up to 27 hours, without added hydrogen peroxide. All three fibres produced 8-OH-dG, while a control without fibres produced only trace amounts. After 20 hours, rockwool produced about 50 pmol and glass fibre about 30 pmol. Chrysotile produced about 500 pmol under corresponding conditions, though these data were not shown. With the fibres, the amount rose linearly up to at least 27 hours. The authors stated that, to their knowledge, this was the first time rockwool and glass fibre had been shown to do this. They speculated that hydroxyl radical generation could be an important step in the cancer-causing action of asbestos, rockwool and glass fibres.

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: Cell-free laboratory (in vitro) chemical experiment
• Who was studied: No human or animal subjects. Fibre samples were tested: rockwool from Rockwool Inc, Skovde, Sweden, and chrysotile and glass fibre from the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health, Solna, Sweden. The work was done at University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.
• Exposure: 45 mg of chrysotile, rockwool or glass fibre was mixed with deoxyguanosine (dG) in phosphate buffer (pH 7.5). The mixtures were incubated in the dark at 37°C for up to 27 hours, with no hydrogen peroxide added.
• Main results:
  • Chrysotile produced 8-OH-dG efficiently even without hydrogen peroxide.
  • Rockwool and glass fibre also produced 8-OH-dG, but less efficiently than chrysotile.
  • After 20 hours of incubation, rockwool produced about 50 pmol and glass fibre about 30 pmol of 8-OH-dG.
  • Chrysotile produced about 500 pmol under corresponding conditions; the data were not shown.
  • With the fibres, 8-OH-dG content increased linearly up to at least 27 hours.
  • In the control incubation without fibres, only trace amounts of 8-OH-dG were detectable.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that, to their knowledge, this was the first time rockwool and glass fibre had been shown to generate reactive oxygen intermediates that hydroxylate dG. They said the differences between asbestos and man made mineral fibres in their simple system seemed somewhat to parallel epidemiological findings. They speculated that hydroxyl radical generation could be an important step in the carcinogenic action of asbestos, rockwool and glass fibres.

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, Hydroxyl Radical.

Related studies

• Glutathione modulates the formation of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in isolated DNA and mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 induced by mineral fibres — P.J. Howden, S.P. Faux (1996)
• Patterns of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine formation in DNA and indications of oxidative stress in rat and human pleural mesothelial cells after exposure to crocidolite asbestos — H. Fung, Y.W. Kow, et al. (1997)
• Iron-dependent formation of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in isolated DNA and mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium TA102 induced by crocidolite — S.P. Faux, P.J. Howden, et al. (1994)
• Determination of carcinogenic potential of mineral fibers by 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine as a marker of oxidative DNA damage in mammalian cells — N. Murata-Kamiya, T. Tsutsui, et al. (1997)
• Persistence of man-made mineral fibres (MMMF) and asbestos in rat lungs — B. Bellmann, H. Muhle, et al. (1987)
• Misreading of DNA templates containing 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine at the modified base and at adjacent residues — Y. Kuchino, F. Mori, et al. (1987)

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