title: Ferritin adsorption on amosite fibers: possible implications in the formation and toxicity of asbestos bodies.
abstract: In order to investigate how endogenous iron can be deposited in vivo on inhaled mineral fibers during early stages of formation of asbestos bodies, in vitro experiments were performed on the adsorption of ferritin onto amosite asbestos. The mineral dust was found to adsorb the protein from an aqueous solution containing 0.3 mg/ml horse spleen ferritin. In order to simulate physiological conditions the aqueous solution was adjusted with 150 mM saline. Polyacrylamide-SDS gel electrophoresis of the desorbed protein showed subunits of approximately 13 and 15 kD, aside from the 20-kD subunit present in the native protein. This suggests that as a result of interactions between ferritin molecules and the solid surface of the mineral fibers, the protein iron core may be released or partially exposed. Data indicate these interactions may have implications in the observed mineral fiber toxicities.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Inorganica, Università di Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fubini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barceló
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Otero Areán
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000818:Animals; D017639:Asbestos, Amosite / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D001195:Asbestosis / Q000209:etiology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005293:Ferritins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006736:Horses; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D019016:Mineral Fibers / Q000032:analysis; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012996:Solutions / Q000032:analysis; D013154:Spleen; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D019016:Mineral Fibers; D012996:Solutions; D017639:Asbestos, Amosite; D005293:Ferritins