Activation of the alternative complement pathway and generation of stimulating factors for granulocytes by glass fibers

Abstract

Continuous-filament glass fibers coated with organic agents, candidate asbestos substitutes, were assessed for their ability to elicit from normal human serum complement-derived cleavage products which are able to stimulate the chemotaxis and the respiratory burst of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Glass fibers generated chemoattracting and respiratory stimulating factors for polymorphonuclears from human serum. The effect was dose related for chemotaxis from the serum fiber concentration of 75 micrograms/ml to 1,250 micrograms/ml. The serum chemoattracting activity, as well the respiratory stimulation, were dramatically impaired when serum had been preliminarily absorbed with antiC5 antiserum. Since the impairment of chemotactic activity occurred also in the presence of EDTA, but not in the presence of EGTA, we assumed an activation of the alternative complement pathway. Glass fibers were studied in comparison to a UICC sample of Canadian chrysotile asbestos, which is able to activate in vitro the alternative complement pathway. Glass fibers exhibited less ability than asbestos fibers to generate complement cleavage products with chemotactic activity for polymorphonuclears; however, they produced an activity about equal to 80% of a chemotactic standard stimulus such as zymosan-activated plasma.

Wollastonite Fibersin VitroGenerate Reactive Oxygen Species Able to Lyse Erythrocytes and Activate the Complement Alternate Pathway

“…Therefore, chrysotile should be richer than wollastonite in terms of the specific surface functionalities involved in complement activation. On the other hand, in vitro complement activation by incubation of crystal or solid particulates has been documented with many foreign particles other than chrysotile and wollastonite: insoluble polyanions such as sulphated Sephadex (Burger et al, 1977), glass fibers (Governa et al, 1988), silica and carbonyl iron (Warheit et al, 1991), plasma expanders (Videm and Mollnes, 1994), Sephadex G25 beads (Thomas et al, 1995), and isometric silicon carbide particles (Governa et al, 1997).…”

“…Complement activation assay. By a method described elsewhere (Governa et al, 1988), we tested the ability of mineral fibers (from 50 to 400 cm 2 specific surface area) to elicit from 1 ml of NHS complement-derived cleavage C5 fragments, which stimulate PMN chemotaxis. The tubes containing serum and fibers were vortexed and incubated in a shaking water bath, first at 37°C for 30 min and then at 56°C for 30 min.…”

The recognition of biomaterials: Pattern recognition of medical polymers and their adsorbed biomolecules

“…51 While IgG and IgM are activators of the complement cascade, C3 deposition also occurs readily on non-coated surfaces by the AP. 52,53 Complement activation generally starts immediately during the initial adsorption of the protein layer on the surface of a biomaterial [ Fig. 1(A)].…”