Histopathological data of iron and calcium in the mouse lung after asbestos exposure

Our plain-English summary of Histopathological data of iron and calcium in the mouse lung after asbestos exposure, by E. Trevisan, G. Zabucchi, L. Pascolo, et al (Data in Brief, 2016).

The study

• Authors: E. Trevisan, G. Zabucchi, L. Pascolo, E. Pascotto, C. Casarsa, M. Lucattelli, G. Lungarella, E. Cavarra, B. Bartalesi, M. Zweyer, V. Borelli
• Journal: Data in Brief
• Published: 2016;6:769-75
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

This data article contains data related to the research article entitled, "Synchrotron X-ray microscopy reveals early calcium and iron interaction with crocidolite fibers in the lung of exposed mice" [1]. Asbestos fibers disrupt iron homeostasis in the human and mouse lung, leading to the deposition of iron (Fe) onto longer asbestos fibers which forms asbestos bodies (AB) [2]. Similar to Fe, calcium (Ca) is also deposited in the coats of the AB. This article presents data on iron and calcium in the mouse lung after asbestos exposure detected by histochemical evaluation.

In plain English

This was a short data article reporting an animal experiment. It accompanies a separate research article by the same group on calcium and iron and crocidolite fibers in mouse lungs. Young male C57Bl/6 mice had crocidolite asbestos in saline placed directly into the windpipe, and control mice received saline only. One month later the authors examined lung fluid, lung tissue, and stains for iron and calcium. In exposed mice, fibers were seen most often in the distal bronchioles, alongside inflammatory cells, mainly macrophages, that appeared to have ingested fibers. Lung fluid from exposed mice showed more total cells and higher percentages of neutrophils and lymphocytes. Collagen was increased compared with controls. Focal atypical hyperplastic lesions near the terminal bronchioles were present in all treated animals. Control lungs did not stain for iron or calcium. Exposed lungs showed very few iron-positive cells and only very weak calcium signals near macrophages and fibers. The authors concluded that this staining method detects only a very low amount of calcium deposition.

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: Animal experiment (data article supplementing a separate research article)
• Who was studied: Pathogen-free 6 to 8 week old male C57Bl/6 mice, studied at the University of Siena, Italy; 7 animals per group were examined for lung pathology and iron and calcium staining
• Exposure: Single intratracheal instillation of UICC standard crocidolite asbestos (dose printed as 100 mg) in sterile saline; controls received saline only; examined one month later
• Main results:
  • In exposed mice, crocidolite fibers were observed most frequently in the distal bronchioles, with an accumulation of inflammatory cells, predominantly macrophages, that appeared to have ingested fibers
  • Lung lavage fluid from exposed animals showed an increase in total cells and in the percentages of neutrophils and lymphocytes; the numbers are shown only in a figure
  • Increased collagen was observed in the lungs of asbestos-exposed mice compared with saline controls
  • Focal atypical hyperplastic lesions at or near terminal bronchioles were present in all treated animals
  • Lung sections from saline-exposed control mice did not stain for iron or calcium
  • One month after crocidolite instillation, very few iron-positive macrophage-like cells were present in the alveolar region
  • Calcium staining in exposed lungs showed very weak positive signals, associated with macrophages and asbestos fiber deposition
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that only a very low amount of calcium deposition is detected with the Von Kossa staining technique, and that these data may be useful for further analyses using other calcium detection methods

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Synchrotron X-ray Microscopy, Crocidolite, Deposition, Asbestos Bodies.

Related studies

• Synchrotron X-ray microscopy reveals early calcium and iron interaction with crocidolite fibers in the lung of exposed mice — L. Pascolo, G. Zabucchi, et al. (2016)
• Production of arachidonic acid metabolites by macrophages exposed in vitro to asbestos, carbonyl iron particles, or calcium ionophore — S. Kouzan, A.R. Brody, et al. (1985)
• Size-dependent superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles dictate interleukin-1β release from mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages — S. Chen, S. Chen, et al. (2018)
• Asbestos body formation and iron accumulation in mouse peritoneal granulomas after the introduction of crocidolite asbestos fibers — H.K. Koerten, J. Hazekamp, et al. (1990)
• Iron signature in asbestos-induced malignant pleural mesothelioma: A population-based autopsy study — S. Crovella, A.M. Bianco, et al. (2016)
• Pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer: the role of asbestos exposure and genetic variants in selected iron metabolism and inflammation genes — F. Celsi, S. Crovella, et al. (2019)

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