Asbestos: mechanisms of toxicity and carcinogenicity in the respiratory tract.

"Asbestos" is a generic name for a group of minerals well·known for their adverse effects on the respiratory system. After prolonged periods of inhala· tion, asbestos produced fibrosis of the lung (i.e. asbestosis) and two types of malignancies. Mesothelioma, a tumor of the serosal cells lining the pleural and peritoneal cavities, is an extremely rare cancer in the general population but can account for as many as one in thirty of the malignancies found in asbestos workers (1). The second type of cancer produced by asbestos is bronchogenic carcinoma, a tumor of the epithelial cells lining the upper airways. This cancer occurs with a high incidence in both asbestos workers and smokers in the general population (2). This review considers new experimental approaches, developed mainly in the past decade, that have been aimed at elucidating the mechanisms of asbestos toxicity. First, we review the physicochemical properties of asbes­ tos that relate to biological activity. Subsequently, we discuss the various

[1]  A. Morgan,et al.  Studies of the solubility of constituents of chrysotile asbestos in vivo using radioactive tracer techniques , 1971 .

[2]  A. Langer,et al.  CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF UNCOATED ASBESTOS FIBERS FROM THE LUNGS OF ASBESTOS WORKERS BY ELECTRON MICROPROBE ANALYSIS , 1972, The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society.

[3]  P. Nettesheim,et al.  Toxic and tumorigenic effects of asbestos on tracheal mucosa. , 1980, Journal of Environmental Pathology And Toxicology.

[4]  Walter A. Korfmacher,et al.  Oxidative transformations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed on coal fly ash. , 1980, Science.

[5]  K. S. Lavappa,et al.  Cytogenetic studies on chrysotile asbestos. , 1975, Environmental research.

[6]  B. Mossman,et al.  Mechanisms of asbestos carcinogenesis. , 1981, Environmental research.

[7]  T G O'Brien,et al.  The induction of ornithine decarboxylase as an early, possibly obligatory, event in mouse skin carcinogenesis. , 1976, Cancer research.

[8]  J Bignon,et al.  Leaching of chrysotile asbestos in human lungs. Correlation with in vitro studies using rabbit alveolar macrophages. , 1977, Environmental research.

[9]  E T Wei,et al.  Surface charge and hemolytic activity of asbestos. , 1977, Environmental research.

[10]  J. Churg,et al.  Phagocytic activity of the alveolar epithelial cells in pulmonary asbestosis. , 1972, The American journal of pathology.

[11]  M. Chamberlain,et al.  The genetic effects of crocidolite asbestos; comparison of chromosome abnormalities and sister-chromatid exchanges , 1980 .

[12]  B. Mossman,et al.  Asbestos-induced epithelial changes in organ cultures of hamster trachea: inhibition by retinyl methyl ether. , 1980, Science.

[13]  M. Jaurand,et al.  Inhibition by phospholipids of haemolytic action of asbestos. , 1979, British journal of industrial medicine.

[14]  E. C. Hammond,et al.  Asbestos exposure, smoking, and neoplasia. , 1968, JAMA.

[15]  B. Mossman,et al.  Use of hamster tracheal organ cultures for assessing the cocarcinogenic effects of inorganic particulates on the respiratory epithelium. , 1979, Progress in experimental tumor research.

[16]  Harington Js.  Fiber carcinogenesis: epidemiologic observations and the Stanton hypothesis. , 1981 .

[17]  Harington Js.  The biological effects of mineral fibres, especially asbestos, as seen from in vitro and in vivo studies. , 1976 .

[18]  L. Shabad,et al.  Experimental studies on asbestos carcinogenicity. , 1974, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[19]  J. Harington,et al.  Hemolysis by asbestos. , 1971, Environmental research.

[20]  A. Allison,et al.  Asbestos induces selective release of lysosomal enzymes from mononuclear phagocytes , 1974, Nature.

[21]  J. Little,et al.  Localization of polycyclic hydrocarbon carcinogens in the lung following intratracheal instillation in gelatin solution. , 1975, Cancer research.

[22]  R. Brown,et al.  The effect of fibre size on the in vitro biological activity of three types of amphibole asbestos , 1978, International journal of cancer.

[23]  M. Stanton,et al.  Mechanisms of mesothelioma induction with asbestos and fibrous glass. , 1972, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[24]  K. Adler,et al.  Isolation and spontaneous transformation of cloned lines of hamster tracheal epithelial cells. , 1980, Cancer research.

[25]  E. C. Hammond,et al.  Mortality effects of cigarette smoking among amosite asbestos factory workers. , 1980, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[26]  R. Lilis,et al.  ASBESTOS DISEASE IN UNITED STATES SHIPYARDS * , 1979, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[27]  J. Delhanty,et al.  A comparison of the cytogenetic response to asbestos and glass fibre in Chinese hamster and human cell lines. Demonstration of growth inhibition in primary human fibroblasts. , 1982, Mutation research.

[28]  J. Lakowicz,et al.  Particle-mediated membrane uptake of chemical carcinogens studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. , 1978, Science.

[29]  P. Nettesheim,et al.  Two-Stage Carcinogenesis Studies With Asbestos in Fischer 344 Rats , 1980 .

[30]  P. Ward,et al.  Acute and progressive lung injury after contact with phorbol myristate acetate. , 1982, The American journal of pathology.

[31]  J. Marx.  Tumor promoters: carcinogenesis gets more complicated. , 1978, Science.

[32]  T. Kilroe-Smith,et al.  The metabolism of benzo(a)pyrene in rat liver microsomes: The effect of asbestos-associated metal ions and pH , 1974 .

[33]  M. Jaurand,et al.  Chemical and photoelectron spectrometry analysis of the adsorption of phospholipid model membranes and red blood cell membranes on to chrysotile fibres. , 1980, British journal of industrial medicine.

[34]  J. Wagner.  Biological effects of mineral fibres. , 1980 .

[35]  C. Woodworth,et al.  Comparative effects of fibrous and nonfibrous minerals on cells and liposomes. , 1982, Environmental research.

[36]  M. Jaurand,et al.  In vitro reactivity of alveolar macrophages and red blood cells with asbestos fibres treated with oxalic acid, sulfur dioxide and benzo-3,4-pyrene. , 1981, Toxicology.

[37]  J. R. Dixon,et al.  The role of trace metals in chemical carcinogenesis: asbestos cancers. , 1970, Cancer research.

[38]  B. Mossman,et al.  Interaction of crocidolite asbestos with hamster respiratory mucosa in organ culture. , 1977, Laboratory investigation; a journal of technical methods and pathology.

[39]  M. Hakama,et al.  COMBINED EFFECT OF ASBESTOS EXPOSURE AND TOBACCO SMOKING ON FINNISH ANTHOPHYLLITE MINERS AND MILLERS , 1979, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[40]  M. Sporn.  Retinoids and carcinogenesis. , 2009, Nutrition reviews.

[41]  M. Stanton,et al.  Relation of particle dimension to carcinogenicity in amphibole asbestoses and other fibrous minerals. , 1981, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[42]  J. Lakowicz,et al.  Benzo[a]pyrene uptake into rat liver microsomes: effects of adsorption of benzo[a]pyrene to asbestos and non-fibrous mineral particulates. , 1980, Chemico-biological interactions.

[43]  M. Newhouse,et al.  Combined effect of asbestos exposure and smoking on mortality from lung cancer in factory workers. , 1972, Lancet.

[44]  M. Stanton,et al.  Carcinogenicity of fibrous glass: pleural response in the rat in relation to fiber dimension. , 1977, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[45]  A. Poole,et al.  The In Vitro Effects of Mineral Dusts , 1983 .

[46]  J. Wagner,et al.  Mesotheliomata in Rats after Inoculation with Asbestos and Other Materials , 1973 .