The control of DNA integrity in mammalian cells is important to maintain the cell homeostasis and prevent neoplastic transformation. Control of cell division and cell death permits repair or elimination of damaged cells. Since asbestos fibers can produce DNA damage, chromosome alterations and apoptosis in several sorts of cells, including mesothelial cells, it was interesting to investigate cel...

To reduce the risk of explosion oxyacetylene cylinders are filled with a spongy mass, acetone is added to saturate the mass, and acetylene is pumped into the cylinder. The first cylinders manufactured before 1936 used a kapok filling topped off with about 16 oz of crocidolite asbestos, with a metal gauze thimble inserted to reduce risk of flash back. Cylinders must be examined annually. The use...

To investigate the mechanisms of asbestos-induced carcinogenesis, expression of c-fos and c-jun protooncogenes was examined in rat pleural mesothelial cells and hamster tracheal epithelial cells after exposure to crocidolite or chrysotile asbestos. In contrast to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, which induces rapid and transient increases in c-fos and c-jun mRNA, asbestos causes 2- to 5-fold in...

A historical prospective cohort study comprised all persons employed from 1950 to 1981 for at least three years in the oldest asbestos cement factory in the world. From 2816 persons eligible for the study, record based estimates and measurements of dust and fibres and histories of smoking based on interviews were used to calculate individual exposures over time. After observation of 51,218 pers...

Wollastonite fibers were tested in vitro for their ability to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) with two different systems: a cell-free reactive mixture containing deoxyribose and a polymorphonuclear leukocyte suspension. After adding the fibers, we measured the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances produced by deoxyribose degradation and luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence, respectively. ...

BACKGROUND Exposure to mineral fibers is of substantial relevance to human health. A key event in exposure is the interaction with inflammatory cells and the subsequent generation of pro-inflammatory factors. Mast cells (MCs) have been shown to interact with titanium oxide (TiO₂) and asbestos fibers. In this study, we compared the response of rat peritoneal MCs challenged with the asbestos croc...

To determine whether asbestos inhalation induces the formation of reactive nitrogen species, three groups of rats were exposed intermittently over 2 wk to either filtered room air (sham-exposed) or to chrysotile or crocidolite asbestos fibers. The rats were killed at 1 or 6 wk after exposure. At 1 wk, significantly greater numbers of alveolar and pleural macrophages from asbestos-exposed rats t...

Asbestos exposure is considered a social burden by causing mesothelioma. Despite the use of synthetic materials, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are similar in dimension to asbestos and produce mesothelioma in animals. The role of inflammatory cells in mesothelial carcinogenesis remains unclear. Here, we evaluated the differences in inflammatory cell responses following exposure to these...