Interactions of asbestos fibers with hepatocytes in vitro: an ultrastructural study

Our plain-English summary of Interactions of asbestos fibers with hepatocytes in vitro: an ultrastructural study, by J. Fleury, M.G. Côté, M. Marion, et al (Toxicology Letters, 1983).

The study

• Authors: J. Fleury, M.G. Côté, M. Marion, G. Chevalier, F. Denizeau
• Journal: Toxicology Letters
• Published: 1983;19(1-2):15-22
• Cited by: 10 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Cultures of rat hepatocytes have been used to study the interaction of chrysotile asbestos fibers with epithelial cells. The hepatocytes were incubated for 20 h with chrysotile asbestos (UICC B and a preparation of short fibers: 90% less than 2 micron) at concentrations of 1 or 10 micrograms/ml. Morphologic studies were then performed by means of transmission electron microscopy. Fibers were incorporated into plasma membrane invaginations, cytoplasmic vacuoles and phagolysosomes. These observations demonstrate that rat hepatocytes can engage in phagocytosis of chrysotile fibers. The results are compared to those previously obtained with mesothelial cells and tracheobronchial epithelium, exposed to asbestos in vitro. The advantages of the hepatocyte model to investigate the effects on cells of the association of asbestos fibers with genotoxic agents in relation to carcinogenesis are discussed.

In plain English

This laboratory study looked at how chrysotile asbestos fibers interact with rat liver cells (hepatocytes) grown in culture. Hepatocytes from male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed for 20 hours to 1 or 10 micrograms per millilitre of either UICC B chrysotile or a preparation of short chrysotile fibers (90% shorter than 2 micrometres). They were then examined under an electron microscope. Fibers were seen in cells at both concentrations, with more uptake at the higher concentration. The cells behaved similarly with both fiber preparations. Fibers were found in folds of the cell membrane, in small sacs called vacuoles, and in phagolysosome-like structures, which are the compartments where cells break down engulfed material. A staining test confirmed fibers inside phagolysosomes. The authors detected no damage or cell bursting caused by the fibers inside the cells. Exposed cells showed a more developed Golgi apparatus than unexposed control cells. The authors concluded that rat hepatocytes can engulf chrysotile fibers. They compared this with earlier studies of mesothelial and airway lining cells, and proposed these liver cells as a laboratory model for studying asbestos together with DNA-damaging chemicals.

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) study of cultured rat liver cells examined by transmission electron microscopy
• Who was studied: hepatocytes (liver cells) isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats of about 150 g, seeded at one million viable cells per 35 mm dish; work done at universities in Montreal, Quebec; the number of rats or cultures is not stated
• Exposure: 20-hour exposure to 1 or 10 micrograms per millilitre of UICC B chrysotile asbestos or of short chrysotile fibers (90% shorter than 2 micrometres); unexposed control cultures for comparison
• Main results:
  • Fibers were seen in hepatocytes exposed to either 1 or 10 micrograms per millilitre of chrysotile, with more uptake at the higher concentration
  • The cells responded in a comparable way to the short fibers and to the UICC B chrysotile fibers
  • In exposed cells, fibers were found in plasma membrane invaginations, cytoplasmic vacuoles and phagolysosome-like structures
  • Acid phosphatase staining confirmed that fibers had been engulfed into phagolysosomes
  • No damaging effects or cell lysis due to fibers inside the cells were detected
  • In cells incubated with fibers, the Golgi apparatus was more developed and more vesicles were seen than in controls
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that rat hepatocytes can engage in phagocytosis (engulfment) of chrysotile fibers. They likened this to earlier in vitro work with mesothelial and bronchotracheal epithelial cells. They proposed hepatocytes as a useful tool for studying the combined effects of asbestos fibers and genotoxic agents on cells.

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, UICC, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Phagolysosome, Phagocytosis, Mesothelial Cells, Epithelium, Carcinogenesis.

Related studies

• Inability of chrysotile asbestos fibers to modulate the 2-acetylaminofluorene-induced UDS in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes — F. Denizeau, M. Marion, et al. (1985)
• Pulmonary cell interactions with asbestos fibers in vivo and in vitro — A.R. Brody (1986)
• In vitro interaction of zeolite fibers with individual cells (macrophages NR8383): measurement of intracellular oxidative burst — B.D. Hogg, P.K. Dutta, et al. (1996)
• Genotoxicity of dimethylnitrosamine in the presence of chrysotile asbestos UICC B and xonotlite — F. Denizeau, M. Marion, et al. (1985)
• Studies on in vitro chrysotile-pleural mesothelial cell interaction: morphological aspects and metabolism of benzo-3,4-pyrene — M.C. Jaurand, I. Bastie-Sigeac, et al. (1983)
• Synthetic silica fibers of different length, diameter and shape: synthesis and interaction with rat (NR8383) and human (THP-1) macrophages in vitro, including chemotaxis and gene expression profile — N. Białas, N. Rosenkranz, et al. (2024)

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