Scanning electron microscopic examination of human asbestos bodies

Our plain-English summary of Scanning electron microscopic examination of human asbestos bodies, by M.L. Mace, T.L. McLemore, V. Roggli, et al (Cancer Letters, 1980).

The study

• Authors: M.L. Mace, T.L. McLemore, V. Roggli, B.R. Brinkley, S.D. Greenberg
• Journal: Cancer Letters
• Published: 1980;9(2):95-104
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000831).

Abstract

Asbestos bodies represent the product of the macrophage's attempt to detoxify inhaled asbestos fibers. The process of asbestos body maturation was examined by scanning electron microscopy of material isolated from lungs of former asbestos workers. The results suggest that the progression from a membrane-bound, smooth coating of the fiber, to the typically beaded form may be caused by cracking and subsequent erosion due to the inspiratory and expiratory forces of the lung on the asbestos body.

In plain English

This study used light and scanning electron microscopy to examine the shapes of asbestos bodies, which are inhaled asbestos fibers coated with iron-containing material. The bodies were extracted from lung tissue taken at autopsy from former asbestos workers exposed to amosite asbestos. The article does not say how many workers were studied. The most typical form had bulbous ends and a chain of doughnut-like segments held together by the central fiber. A slightly less common 'dog bone' form, with a heavily coated, cracked centre, was found more often on fibers shorter than 5 micrometres. The authors arranged images into a proposed sequence: a smooth, membrane-covered coat, then cracks, then rounding and erosion of the cracked edges, then a beaded body, and finally a mostly bare fiber. They noted a strong tendency toward radial and bilateral symmetry. The authors concluded that maturation of coated amosite fibers is primarily, though not necessarily solely, influenced by the lung environment. They suggested that breathing forces may crack and erode the coating. No counts or rates were reported.

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: Descriptive laboratory microscopy study (light and scanning electron microscopy) of asbestos bodies extracted from autopsy lung tissue
• Who was studied: Asbestos bodies isolated from the lungs of former asbestos workers at autopsy (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas). The number of workers and the number of bodies examined are not stated; 5 grams of lung tissue were digested per sample.
• Exposure: Occupational amosite asbestos exposure
• Main results:
  • The most typical asbestos body form seen in response to amosite had bulbous ends and a series of doughnut-like structures held together by the central fiber.
  • A slightly less common 'dog bone' form, with eroded bulbous ends and a heavily coated, fractured centre, was found more often on short fibers (under 5 micrometres) than on longer ones.
  • The authors arranged images into a proposed maturation sequence: a smooth, membrane-limited coat; partial and complete cracks; erosion of crack edges to smooth contours; extensive beading; and finally a largely uncoated fiber with eroded ends.
  • The asbestos bodies showed a strong tendency toward radial and bilateral symmetry within each structure.
  • The authors interpreted the cracking and erosion as caused by physical forces during breathing that flex coated fibers released into the lung.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the maturation of coated amosite asbestos fibers is primarily, though not necessarily solely, influenced by the lung microenvironment to which each fiber is exposed.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Bodies, Macrophage, Asbestos Body Formation, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

Related studies

• A simple method for preparing ferruginous bodies for electron microscopic examination — A. Churg, N. Sakoda, et al. (1977)
• Study of inorganic particles, fibers, and asbestos bodies by variable pressure scanning electron microscopy with annexed energy dispersive spectroscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy in thin sections of lung and pleural plaque — C. Rinaudo, A. Croce, et al. (2010)
• Environmental scanning electron microscopy technique to identify asbestos phases inside ferruginous bodies — A. Croce, M. Musa, et al. (2013)
• Malignant mesothelioma not related to asbestos exposure: Analytical scanning electron microscopic analysis of 83 cases and comparison with 442 asbestos-related cases — A. Kraynie, G.G. de Ridder, et al. (2016)
• The interactions between asbestos fibers and metaphase chromosomes of rat pleural mesothelial cells in culture. A scanning and transmission electron microscopic study — N.S. Wang, M.C. Jaurand, et al. (1987)
• Asbestos body phagocytosis by human free alveolar macrophages — T.L. McLemore, M.L. Mace, et al. (1980)

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