Haemolytic activity of asbestos and other mineral dusts

Our plain-English summary of Haemolytic activity of asbestos and other mineral dusts, by G. Macnab, J.S. Harington (Nature, 1967).

The study

• Authors: G. Macnab, J.S. Harington
• Journal: Nature
• Published: 1967;214(5087):522-3
• Cited by: 95 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This was a short laboratory report. The authors tested whether finely ground mineral dusts break open (haemolyse) red blood cells, using a suspension of washed sheep red blood cells. The dusts included crystalline and amorphous silica, chrysotile, amosite, anthophyllite and crocidolite asbestos, serpentine, coal and mine dusts, talc, kaolin, glass powder, carborundum and diamond dust. Chrysotile, serpentine and all forms of silica tested showed significant haemolytic activity. 50 mg of chrysotile completely lysed 4 ml of the suspension in 50 minutes at 37° C, and chrysotile acted faster than silica. Amosite, anthophyllite and crocidolite gave negative results at 50 minutes. With amosite and anthophyllite, haemolysis began only after 5 hours, and crocidolite had a very mild effect after 24 hours. Glass powder, carborundum and diamond dust caused little or no haemolysis. Haemolysis by chrysotile was inhibited by serum, EDTA and phosphate, but only partly by polyvinylpyridine-N-oxide and aluminium. Chrysotile adsorbed five times more protein from serum than silica. The authors stated that the fibrogenic properties of the asbestos types studied cannot yet be linked to their haemolytic activity.

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 on red blood cells
• Who was studied: standardized 2 per cent suspension of washed sheep red blood cells (erythrocytes) in buffered saline; no human or animal subjects
• Exposure: finely ground dusts: crystalline and amorphous silica, silicic acid powder, silica gel, chrysotile, amosite, anthophyllite and crocidolite asbestos, serpentine, aluminium oxide, Sephadex G-25, high and low rank coal dust, mine dust, colloidal carbon, talc, kaolin, glass powder, carborundum and diamond dust
• Main results:
  • Chrysotile, serpentine and all forms of silica tested showed significant haemolytic activity; the remaining powders were either completely inactive or only weakly lytic
  • 4 ml of the red-cell suspension was completely lysed by 50 mg of chrysotile incubated at 37° C for 50 minutes
  • The rate of haemolysis by chrysotile was greater than that by silica; measured haemolysis by chrysotile never reached 100 per cent because haemoglobin was adsorbed on the fibres
  • Several samples of amosite, anthophyllite and crocidolite gave consistently negative results after 50 minutes at 37° C
  • For amosite and anthophyllite, haemolysis started only after 5 hours and reached its maximum after 24 hours; crocidolite had a very mild haemolytic effect after 24 hours
  • Abrasive dusts (carborundum, diamond dust, glass powder) gave little or no haemolysis, which the authors took as largely excluding a mechanical effect
  • Haemolysis by chrysotile was inhibited by serum, EDTA and phosphate ions; 20 micromoles of EDTA in 4 ml of suspension completely prevented the haemolytic action of 50 mg chrysotile
  • Haemolysis by chrysotile was prevented only partially by polyvinylpyridine-N-oxide and aluminium, which protect cells against lysis by silica
  • Under the same conditions, chrysotile adsorbed five times more protein from serum than silica
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the fibrogenic properties common to the asbestos types they studied cannot yet be associated with their haemolytic characteristics

Related studies

• Interrelationship between hemolysis and lipid peroxidation of human erythrocytes induced by silicic acid and silicate dusts — S.V. Singh, Q. Rahman (1987)
• The hemolytic activity of chrysotile asbestos fibers: a freeze-fracture study — J.P. Pelé, J. Dunnigan, et al. (1983)
• Cytotoxicity of respirable dusts from industrial minerals: comparison of two naturally occurring and two man-made silicates — D. Nadeau, L. Fouquette-Couture, et al. (1987)
• Hemolysis by asbestos — J.S. Harington, K. Miller, et al. (1971)
• Inhibition by phospholipids of haemolytic action of asbestos — M.C. Jaurand, L. Magne, et al. (1979)
• Asbestos hemolysis — R.J. Schnitzer, F.L. Pundsack (1970)

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