In vitro studies on the cytotoxic action of different varieties of asbestos dust on macrophages

Our plain-English summary of In vitro studies on the cytotoxic action of different varieties of asbestos dust on macrophages, by J.L. Kaw, S.H. Zaidi (Acta Pharmacologica et Toxicologica, 1975).

The study

• Authors: J.L. Kaw, S.H. Zaidi
• Journal: Acta Pharmacologica et Toxicologica
• Published: 1975;36(3):225-35
• Cited by: 18 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The cytotoxic action of a variety of asbestos dusts viz. chrysotile, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite was tested in vitro using alveolar and peritoneal macrophage cell cultures. The release of acid phosphatase and the uptake of the dye erythrosin B were taken as parameters of cytotoxicity. Among the several varieties of asbestos tested for this purpose, chrysotile proved to be most cytotoxic for both the alveolar and peritoneal macrophages, although the former were more sensitive. Amosite was only slightly toxic for alveolar macrophages. Anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite behaved as control inert dusts. Carboxymethylcellulose exhibited an anticytotoxic effect when chrysotile was pretreated with the polymer or when the dust cell interaction was allowed to take place in its presence.

PubMed has no abstract for this study. This is the authors' abstract, copied from the article.

In plain English

This laboratory study tested how five types of asbestos (chrysotile, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite) affected macrophages, which are scavenger cells, taken from the lungs (alveolar) and abdominal cavity (peritoneal) of guinea pigs. Cells grown in culture were exposed to each dust for 2 and 4 hours. Glass fiber dust and no dust served as controls. Damage was judged by staining with the dye erythrosin B and by leakage of the enzyme acid phosphatase. Chrysotile was the most damaging. Four hours after exposure, more than 80 percent of alveolar macrophages took up the dye, compared with 31 to 60 percent of peritoneal macrophages. Amosite was slightly toxic to alveolar cells but not to peritoneal cells. Anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite behaved like inert control dust. The chemical carboxymethylcellulose reduced chrysotile's effect when it was present during exposure or used to pretreat the dust. It did not help when used to pretreat the cells. The authors suggested the differences may relate to the fibers' surface structure. The work was done on cells in culture, not on people.

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 cultured animal cells
• Who was studied: Alveolar (lung) and peritoneal (abdominal) macrophages harvested from guinea pigs weighing 300 to 400 g, at the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, India. Cells from the animals were pooled, and culture tubes were each seeded with 2.0 million cells. The number of animals is not stated. Tables list 4 to 6 samples per condition. Received 1974, published 1975.
• Exposure: Chrysotile, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite dusts, each with a fiber length of less than 30 (the unit is missing from the text). Each was given at one dose, printed as 50 'pg' per 1.0 x 10^6 cells. Exposure lasted 2 and 4 hours. Controls were glass fiber dust or no dust. Chrysotile was also tested with sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC).
• Main results:
  • With chrysotile, more than 80 percent of alveolar macrophages took up erythrosin dye at 4 hours. Peritoneal macrophages given the same exposure did not exceed 31 to 60 percent. In control cultures (no dust or glass fiber), fewer than 10 percent of cells stained.
  • Chrysotile also caused release of acid phosphatase. The amount released from alveolar macrophages was qualitatively much less than from peritoneal macrophages.
  • Amosite was slightly toxic to alveolar macrophages: 11 to 30 percent of cells stained at 4 hours, per Table 1. It was not toxic to peritoneal macrophages.
  • Anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite behaved like inert control dusts in both cell types.
  • In peritoneal macrophages, CMC at a concentration as low as 0.01 percent, present during exposure, inhibited chrysotile-induced dye uptake and enzyme release. Pretreating the chrysotile with CMC had the same effect.
  • Pretreating the cells with CMC before chrysotile exposure gave no protection.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that chrysotile was the most cytotoxic of the five asbestos types for both alveolar and peritoneal macrophages. They suggested that the differences between chrysotile and the amphibole types may be due to differences in the fibers' surface structure, including chrysotile's magnesium-rich surface.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors note that only one enzyme, acid phosphatase, was studied.
  • The authors note that increased dye uptake reflects a change in cell membrane permeability and does not necessarily mean the cells died.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Macrophage, Chrysotile, Amosite, Anthophyllite, Tremolite, Actinolite, Alveolar Macrophage.

Related studies

• Cytotoxic action of mineral dusts on CHV 79 cells in vitro: factors affecting toxicity — S.O. Lock, M. Chamberlain (1983)
• Reaction of cells cultured in vitro to different asbestos dusts of equal surface area but different fibre length — J.L. Kaw, F. Tilkes, et al. (1982)
• Cytotoxic effects of some mineral dusts on Syrian hamster peritoneal macrophages — E. Bey, J.S. Harington (1971)
• Cytotoxic effects of quartz and chrysotile asbestos: in vitro interspecies comparison with alveolar macrophages — J. Schimmelpfeng, A. Seidel (1991)
• Polyvinylpyridine-N-oxide and carboxymethyl cellulose inhibit mineral dust-induced production of reactive oxygen species by human macrophages — P. Nyberg (1991)
• Secretion of fibronectin by mineral dust-derived alveolar macrophages and activated peritoneal macrophages — R. Davies, G. Erdogdu (1989)

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