Interaction of erythrocyte membranes with particulates

Our plain-English summary of Interaction of erythrocyte membranes with particulates, by A.C. Ottolenghi, L.B. Joseph, H.A. Newman, et al (Environmental Health Perspectives, 1983).

The study

• Authors: A.C. Ottolenghi, L.B. Joseph, H.A. Newman, R.E. Stephens
• Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives
• Published: 1983;51:253-6
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Chrysotile fibers promoted the fusion of human erythrocyte membranes and the hemolysis and fusion of fowl erythrocytes. Amosite and glass fibers did not show the same effect. These findings provide a model for the internalization of the fibers by animal cells.

In plain English

This was a laboratory experiment on how asbestos fibers interact with red blood cell membranes. The authors mixed short chrysotile fibers with human red blood cell 'ghosts' (empty cell membranes) and examined them under the microscope. In a very dilute (2 mOSM) buffer, chrysotile caused the membranes to fuse together around the fibers. In a 20 mOSM buffer, the membranes bound to the fibers but did not fuse. When the antibiotic polymyxin B was added, binding occurred at localized spots and no fusion was seen in any of these preparations. With red blood cells from White Leghorn roosters, chrysotile caused binding, bursting of the cells (hemolysis) and occasional fusion. Amosite and Pyrex glass fibers caused no binding, fusion or bursting of these cells. The article describes what was seen in microscope images and gives no counts or measurements of how often these effects occurred. The authors concluded that the findings provide a model for how fibers are taken into animal cells. They presented the uptake mechanism they proposed only as a possibility, and noted that neither their own data nor other authors' consistently showed clear membrane-bound vacuoles around the asbestos.

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 using human red blood cell membranes ('ghosts') and chicken red blood cells as model systems, examined by microscopy
• Who was studied: unsealed human red blood cell ghosts and red blood cells from White Leghorn roosters; the number of blood donors is not given
• Exposure: short NIEHS chrysotile, NIEHS amosite and Pyrex glass fibers, 5 micrograms per test mixture, incubated at 25 degrees C. Human ghosts were tested with chrysotile in 2 mOSM or 20 mOSM buffer, some with polymyxin B added. Chicken red cells were tested with all three fiber types.
• Main results:
  • Human red cell ghosts incubated with chrysotile in 2 mOSM buffer showed membrane fusion
  • In 20 mOSM buffer, human ghosts bound to chrysotile but did not fuse
  • With polymyxin B added, human ghosts bound chrysotile at localized sites showing enhanced refractivity
  • No fusion was seen in any of the human ghost preparations containing polymyxin B
  • Chicken red blood cells incubated with chrysotile showed binding, hemolysis and occasional fusion
  • Chicken red blood cells incubated with amosite or glass fibers showed no binding, fusion or lysis
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the findings provide a model for the internalization of fibers by animal cells
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors note that neither their own data nor those of other authors consistently showed clear membrane-bound vacuoles around the asbestos
  • The authors present their proposed mechanism for how fibers are taken into cells as a possibility, not an established finding

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, Amosite.

Related studies

• Interactions of chrysotile asbestos with erythrocyte membranes — A.R. Brody, L.H. Hill (1983)
• A spin label study of the effect of chrysotile asbestos on erythrocyte membranes — E. Gendek, G. Bartosz, et al. (1984)
• A spin label study of the effects of asbestos, quartz, and titanium dioxide dusts on the bovine erythrocyte membrane — W. Leyko, E. Gendek (1985)
• Influence of the sialic acid content of the membrane on its susceptibility to chrysotile — J. Depasse (1982)
• Changes in lipid ordering of model phospholipid membranes treated with chrysotile and crocidolite asbestos — E.G. Gendek, A.R. Brody (1990)
• Hemolysis by chrysotile asbestos fibers. I. Influence of the sialic acid content in human, rat, and sheep red blood cell membranes — J.P. Pelé, R. Calvert (1983)

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