Asbestos fibers have been shown to generate reactive oxygen species using a variety of in vitro assays. It is hypothesized that these highly reactive metabolites mediate the development of malignant mesothelioma induced by asbestos fibers. DNA is a potential target of oxidant attack. Adaptive responses to oxidant injury have been described during exposure of mesothelial cells to asbestos fibers in vitro. Failure of these adaptive responses may lead to genetic instability and alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes that confer a proliferative advantage to emerging neoplastic mesothelial cells. -Environ Health Perspect 102(Suppl 10): 131-136 (1994)
Asbestos fibers have been shown to generate reactive oxygen species using a variety of in vitro assays. It is hypothesized that these highly reactive metabolites mediate the development of malignant mesothelioma induced by asbestos fibers. DNA is a potential target of oxidant attack. Adaptive responses to oxidant injury have been described during exposure of mesothelial cells to asbestos fibers in vitro. Failure of these adaptive responses may lead to genetic instability and alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes that confer a proliferative advantage to emerging neoplastic mesothelial cells.
The p53 gene regulates the G1 cell cycle checkpoint in response to DNA damage. A primary murine mesothelial cell line (D9) spontaneously acquired a point mutation at codon 135 in exon 5 of the p53 gene, resulting in substitution of alanine for proline; early passage D9 cells expressed wild-type p53. The growth rate of late passage D9 cells that acquired the p53 mutation was increased compared to that of early passage cells; however, this mutation was not sufficient to confer tumorigenicity to this cell line. Mammalian cells that express wild-type p53 show a transient arrest in G1 after exposure to ionizing radiation. Early passage D9 cells showed a G1 arrest following ionizing radiation, while late passage D9 cells arrested in G2 or mitosis. The clastogenic effects of ionizing radiation can be demonstrated by the cytokinesis-arrested micronucleus assay. Following treatment with cytochalasin B to arrest cytokinesis, ionizing radiation induced micronuclei in 50% of late passage D9 cells compared to 15% of early passage cells. After exposure to 15 micrograms/cm2 of crocidolite asbestos fibers, 18% of late passage cells had micronuclei compared to 4% of early passage cells. It is hypothesized that loss of the G1 cell cycle checkpoint contributes to genetic instability in murine mesothelial cells.
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