Certain end-products of lipid peroxidation bind to DNA forming a fluorescent chromophore. Incubation of both Salmonella typhimurium TA104 and a rat lung fibroblast cell line, RFL-6, with various types of mineral fibre resulted in a time- and dose-dependent increase in DNA fluorescence. The increase in DNA fluorescence was shown to be directly related to the amount of iron that could be mobilized from the fibre surface using in vitro studies in the absence of cells or bacteria. Crocidolite and man-made vitreous fibre-21 (MMVF-21) mobilized significant quantities of iron and were significantly more active than chrysotile and refactory ceramic fibre-1 (RCF-1). Fibre-induced malondialdehyde-DNA adduct formation, the fluorescent product, was increased by incubating cells with buthionine sulfoximine and ameliorated by co-treatment with N-acetylcysteine, indicating a protective role for glutathione. Similarly, vitamin E was also shown to inhibit DNA adduct formation. These results suggest that mineral fibre-induced lipid peroxidation produced genotoxic products which can diffuse into nucleus and interact with cellular DNA. In conclusion, fibre-induced lipid peroxidation may be a possible mechanism in the genotoxic action of fibrous materials.

Treatment of isolated DNA with crocidolite asbestos significantly increased the concentration of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) above background. Furthermore, incubating DNA with H2O2 and crocidolite potentiated the formation of 8-OHdG above levels observed with crocidolite alone. In the presence of desferrioxamine, desferrioxamine and ferrozine, dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) or o-phenanthroline, crocidolite-induced DNA oxidation was reduced by 36, 73, 74 and 70% respectively. Crocidolite, but not chrysotile asbestos, enhanced background revertants in Salmonella typhimurium TA102, at sub-cytotoxic concentrations in a dose-dependent manner. The mutagenic effects of crocidolite were quite small and this indicates that crocidolite was a weak mutagen in this study. The number of revertants was reduced to the spontaneous rate for this strain after the fibres had been pretreated with desferrioxamine before assaying for genotoxicity in this oxygen radical-sensitive strain. These results help to explain a mechanistic role for iron in crocidolite-induced DNA oxidation and mutagenicity in TA102.

Asbestos fibers cause persistent induction of the oxidative stress sensitive transcription factors nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-icB) and activator protein-i (AP-1) in mammalian cells. These transcription factors play an important role in the regulation of cellular activity. Lipid peroxidation, mediated by reactive oxygen species, is thought to be a possible mechanism in the pathogenicity of asbestos fibers. These studies were designed to determine if crocidolite asbestos-induced lipid peroxidation plays a role in the mechanism of formation of NF-KB and AP-1. Treatment of a rat lung fibroblast cell line (RFL-6) with crocidolite asbestos in the presence and absence of the membrane antioxidant vitamin E decreased the levels of crocidolite-induced AP-1 and NF-KB to background levels. Preincubation of RFL-6 cells with 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid, an inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism, prior to exposure to crocidolite, abrogated crocidolite-induced NFicB DNA-binding activity to background levels. Coincubation with indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, had no effect on NF-KB DNA-binding activity induced by crocidolite. However, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, a lipoxygenase inhibitor, decreased levels of NF-icB to background levels. This would suggest that lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid, produced following lipid peroxidation, are involved in the cellular signalling events leading to NF-KB transcription factor induction by asbestos.

Asbestos fibers cause persistent induction of the oxidative stress sensitive transcription factors nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-kappa B) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) in mammalian cells. These transcription factors play an important role in the regulation of cellular activity. Lipid peroxidation, mediated by reactive oxygen species, is thought to be a possible mechanism in the pathogenicity of asbestos fibers. These studies were designed to determine if crocidolite asbestos-induced lipid peroxidation plays a role in the mechanism of formation of NF-kappa B and AP-1. Treatment of a rat lung fibroblast cell line (RFL-6) with crocidolite asbestos in the presence and absence of the membrane antioxidant vitamin E decreased the levels of crocidolite-induced AP-1 and NF-kappa B to background levels. Preincubation of RFL-6 cells with 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid, an inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism, prior to exposure to crocidolite, abrogated crocidolite-induced NF-kappa B DNA-binding activity to background levels. Coincubation with indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, had no effect on NF-kappa B DNA-binding activity induced by crocidolite. However, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, a lipoxygenase inhibitor, decreased levels of NF-kappa B to background levels. This would suggest that lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid, produced following lipid peroxidation, are involved in the cellular signalling events to NF-kappa B transcription factor induction by asbestos.

Treatment of isolated DNA with crocidolite and man-made vitreous fibre-21 (MMVF-21) significantly increased the concentration of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in isolated DNA above background levels and co-treatment with glutathione (GSH) eliminated this effect. Crocidolite, MMVF-21 and chrysotile fibres increased the number of revertants in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and GSH-deficient strains, TA100/NG-54 and TA100/NG-57, over background levels. This increase was small in TA100 but was greater in the GSH-deficient strains. When these bacterial strains were further depleted of GSH by co-culture with buthionine sulfoximine, all fibres tested caused a significant increase in the number of revertants over the parent strains. Pre-treatment with the GSH precursor N-acetyl-L-cysteine reduced the number of revertants to below that of the parent strain. Previous studies have shown a mechanistic role for iron-catalyzed production of oxygen radicals in the mutagenicity of fibres and this study suggests a protective role for GSH against such oxidative damage possibly by acting as a radical scavenger.