Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1994 Dec;102(Suppl 10):107–110. doi: 10.1289/ehp.94102s10107

Oxygen radicals and asbestos-mediated disease.

T R Quinlan 1, J P Marsh 1, Y M Janssen 1, P A Borm 1, B T Mossman 1
PMCID: PMC1566980  PMID: 7705283

Abstract

Asbestos fibers are potent elaborators of active oxygen species whether by reactions involving iron on the surface of the fiber, or by attempted phagocytosis of fibers by cell types resident in the lung. The link between production of active oxygen species and the pathogenesis of asbestos-mediated disease has been highlighted by studies outlined here exploring the use of antioxidant scavengers which inhibit the cytotoxic effects of asbestos both in vitro and in vivo. The use of antioxidant enzymes ameliorates the induction of certain genes necessary for cell proliferation, such as ornithine decarboxylase, implicating oxidants as causative factors in some abnormal cell replicative events. Based on these observations, antioxidant enzymes likely represent an important lung defense mechanism in response to oxidative stress. In addition, their gene expression in lung or in cells from bronchoalveolar lavage might be a valuable biomarker of chronic inflammation and pulmonary disease after inhalation of oxidants.

Full text

PDF
107

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Angel P., Karin M. The role of Jun, Fos and the AP-1 complex in cell-proliferation and transformation. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1991 Dec 10;1072(2-3):129–157. doi: 10.1016/0304-419x(91)90011-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Gulumian M., van Wyk J. A. Hydroxyl radical production in the presence of fibres by a Fenton-type reaction. Chem Biol Interact. 1987;62(1):89–97. doi: 10.1016/0009-2797(87)90081-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hansen K., Mossman B. T. Generation of superoxide (O2-.) from alveolar macrophages exposed to asbestiform and nonfibrous particles. Cancer Res. 1987 Mar 15;47(6):1681–1686. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Heffner J. E., Repine J. E. Pulmonary strategies of antioxidant defense. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1989 Aug;140(2):531–554. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/140.2.531. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Heintz N. H., Janssen Y. M., Mossman B. T. Persistent induction of c-fos and c-jun expression by asbestos. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Apr 15;90(8):3299–3303. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.8.3299. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Holley J. A., Janssen Y. M., Mossman B. T., Taatjes D. J. Increased manganese superoxide dismutase protein in type II epithelial cells of rat lungs after inhalation of crocidolite asbestos or cristobalite silica. Am J Pathol. 1992 Aug;141(2):475–485. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Janssen Y. M., Marsh J. P., Absher M. P., Hemenway D., Vacek P. M., Leslie K. O., Borm P. J., Mossman B. T. Expression of antioxidant enzymes in rat lungs after inhalation of asbestos or silica. J Biol Chem. 1992 May 25;267(15):10625–10630. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Janssen Y. M., Van Houten B., Borm P. J., Mossman B. T. Cell and tissue responses to oxidative damage. Lab Invest. 1993 Sep;69(3):261–274. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kamp D. W., Graceffa P., Pryor W. A., Weitzman S. A. The role of free radicals in asbestos-induced diseases. Free Radic Biol Med. 1992;12(4):293–315. doi: 10.1016/0891-5849(92)90117-y. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kennedy T. P., Dodson R., Rao N. V., Ky H., Hopkins C., Baser M., Tolley E., Hoidal J. R. Dusts causing pneumoconiosis generate .OH and produce hemolysis by acting as Fenton catalysts. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1989 Feb 15;269(1):359–364. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(89)90118-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Landesman J. M., Mossman B. T. Induction of ornithine decarboxylase in hamster tracheal epithelial cells exposed to asbestos and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. Cancer Res. 1982 Sep;42(9):3669–3675. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Marsh J. P., Mossman B. T. Mechanisms of induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity in tracheal epithelial cells by asbestiform minerals. Cancer Res. 1988 Feb 1;48(3):709–714. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Marsh J. P., Mossman B. T. Mechanisms of induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity in tracheal epithelial cells by asbestiform minerals. Cancer Res. 1988 Feb 1;48(3):709–714. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Marsh J. P., Mossman B. T. Role of asbestos and active oxygen species in activation and expression of ornithine decarboxylase in hamster tracheal epithelial cells. Cancer Res. 1991 Jan 1;51(1):167–173. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Matthews N., Watkins J. F. Tumour-necrosis factor from the rabbit. I. Mode of action, specificity and physicochemical properties. Br J Cancer. 1978 Aug;38(2):302–309. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1978.202. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mossman B. T., Gee J. B. Asbestos-related diseases. N Engl J Med. 1989 Jun 29;320(26):1721–1730. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198906293202604. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Mossman B. T., Marsh J. P., Sesko A., Hill S., Shatos M. A., Doherty J., Petruska J., Adler K. B., Hemenway D., Mickey R. Inhibition of lung injury, inflammation, and interstitial pulmonary fibrosis by polyethylene glycol-conjugated catalase in a rapid inhalation model of asbestosis. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1990 May;141(5 Pt 1):1266–1271. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/141.5_Pt_1.1266. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Mossman B. T., Marsh J. P., Shatos M. A. Alteration of superoxide dismutase activity in tracheal epithelial cells by asbestos and inhibition of cytotoxicity by antioxidants. Lab Invest. 1986 Feb;54(2):204–212. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Mossman B. T., Marsh J. P., Shatos M. A., Doherty J., Gilbert R., Hill S. Implication of active oxygen species as second messengers of asbestos toxicity. Drug Chem Toxicol. 1987;10(1-2):157–180. doi: 10.3109/01480548709042587. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. O'Brien T. G., Lewis M. A., Diamond L. Ornithine decarboxylase activity and DNA synthesis after treatment of cells in culture with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. Cancer Res. 1979 Nov;39(11):4477–4480. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Pegg A. E. Polyamine metabolism and its importance in neoplastic growth and a target for chemotherapy. Cancer Res. 1988 Feb 15;48(4):759–774. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Ransone L. J., Verma I. M. Nuclear proto-oncogenes fos and jun. Annu Rev Cell Biol. 1990;6:539–557. doi: 10.1146/annurev.cb.06.110190.002543. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Reid T. R., Torti F. M., Ringold G. M. Evidence for two mechanisms by which tumor necrosis factor kills cells. J Biol Chem. 1989 Mar 15;264(8):4583–4589. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Sesko A., Cabot M., Mossman B. Hydrolysis of inositol phospholipids precedes cellular proliferation in asbestos-stimulated tracheobronchial epithelial cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Oct;87(19):7385–7389. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.19.7385. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Shatos M. A., Doherty J. M., Marsh J. P., Mossman B. T. Prevention of asbestos-induced cell death in rat lung fibroblasts and alveolar macrophages by scavengers of active oxygen species. Environ Res. 1987 Oct;44(1):103–116. doi: 10.1016/s0013-9351(87)80090-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Shull S., Heintz N. H., Periasamy M., Manohar M., Janssen Y. M., Marsh J. P., Mossman B. T. Differential regulation of antioxidant enzymes in response to oxidants. J Biol Chem. 1991 Dec 25;266(36):24398–24403. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Vallyathan V., Mega J. F., Shi X., Dalal N. S. Enhanced generation of free radicals from phagocytes induced by mineral dusts. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 1992 Apr;6(4):404–413. doi: 10.1165/ajrcmb/6.4.404. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Weitzman S. A., Graceffa P. Asbestos catalyzes hydroxyl and superoxide radical generation from hydrogen peroxide. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1984 Jan;228(1):373–376. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(84)90078-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Wong G. H., Goeddel D. V. Induction of manganous superoxide dismutase by tumor necrosis factor: possible protective mechanism. Science. 1988 Nov 11;242(4880):941–944. doi: 10.1126/science.3263703. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of American Chemical Society

RESOURCES