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Production of nitric oxide elevates nitrosothiol formation resulting in decreased glutathione in macrophages exposed to asbestos or asbestos substitutes

  • Molecular Toxicology
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pneumoconiogenic particles, such as asbestos, on nitrosothiol formation in macrophages. In addition, the effects of man-made mineral fibers (MMMFs) were also evaluated, because they have come into heavy use as substitutes for asbestos. RAW264.7 cells and J774 cells of murine macrophage cell lines were cultured with chrysotile B (CH) asbestos, crocidolite (CR) asbestos, or MMMFs comprised of glass wool (GW), rock wool (RW), or ceramic (RF1). All of these fibers significantly increased nitric oxide (NO) production in the culture with macrophages. Chrysotile B, CR, and GW significantly decreased the level of reduced glutathione (GSH) in RAW264.7 cells. S-nitrosothiol (RS-NO) formation was increased by both types of cells on exposure to every fiber. A large portion of this increased RS-NO may be in the form of S-nitrosoglutathione (GS-NO), because GSH is the most abundant thiol substance in the cell. Both CH and GW significantly increased superoxide anion in the media cultured of RAW264.7 cells. These results indicate that macrophages exposed to asbestos or MMMFs are subject to oxidative stress, not only through the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, but also through decreases in the level of the cellular antioxidant, GSH, by GS-NO formation. The increase of RS-NO in macrophages exposed to asbestos or MMMFs may deserve more attention as the indicator of continuous oxidative stress by NO on cells and tissues, which causes inflammation and involves the development of asbestos-induced diseases.

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Acknowledgements. This work was supported by a grant from the Scientific Research Fund (no. 12470103) of Education, Science, and Culture of the Government of Japan given to one of the authors (H.I.). We thank the staff of the Common Research Laboratory and the Institute of Experimental Animal Sciences, Hyogo College of Medicine.

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  1. Department of Hygiene, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, 663-8501, Hyogo, Japan

    Tamako Nishiike, Yasumitsu Nishimura, Yasuhiko Wada & Hiroshi Iguchi

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  1. Tamako Nishiike
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  2. Yasumitsu Nishimura
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  3. Yasuhiko Wada
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  4. Hiroshi Iguchi
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Correspondence to Tamako Nishiike.

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Nishiike, T., Nishimura, Y., Wada, Y. et al. Production of nitric oxide elevates nitrosothiol formation resulting in decreased glutathione in macrophages exposed to asbestos or asbestos substitutes. Arch Toxicol 79, 83–89 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-004-0608-6

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