Cell type-specific effects of asbestos on intracellular ROS levels, DNA oxidation and G1 cell cycle checkpoint.
Exposure to asbestos fibers increases the risk of development of mesotheliomas and lung carcinomas, but not fibrosarcomas. We present data suggesting that resistance of fibroblasts to asbestos-induced carcinogenesis is likely to be connected with their lower ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to asbestos exposure and stricter control of proliferation of cells bearing asbestos/ROS-induced injuries. In fact, chrysotile (Mg6Si4O10(OH)8) asbestos exposure (5-10 microg/cm2) increased intracellular ROS and 8-oxo-guanine contents in rat pleural mesothelial cells, but not in lung fibroblasts. Simultaneously, moderate dosages of chrysotile and other agents increasing ROS levels (hydrogen peroxide, H2O2 and ethyl-methanesulfonate, EMS) inhibited cell cycle progression, in particular G1-to-S transition, in fibroblasts, but not in mesothelial cells. The arrested fibroblasts underwent cell death, while the majority of chrysotile-treated mesothelial cells survived. The differences in cell cycle response to asbestos/ROS-induced injuries correlated with distinct activity of p53-p21Cip1/Waf1 pathway in the two cell types. Chrysotile, H2O2 and EMS caused p53 upregulation in both cell types, but mesothelial cells, unlike fibroblasts, showed no accumulation of p21Cip1/Waf1. Of note, treatment with doxorubicin caused similar p53-dependent p21Cip1/Waf1 upregulation and cell cycle arrest in both cell types. This suggests differential response of fibroblasts and mesothelial cells specifically to asbestos/ROS exposure rather than to all DNA-damaging insults.
Institute of Carcinogenesis, Blokhin Cancer Research Center, Kashirskoye shosse 24, Moscow 115478, Russia. bkopnin@yahoo.com
Pavel B
PB
Kopnin
Irina V
IV
Kravchenko
Vladimir A
VA
Furalyov
Lev N
LN
Pylev
Boris P
BP
Kopnin
D000818:Animals; D017632:Asbestos, Serpentine / Q000633:toxicity*; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004247:DNA / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D016193:G1 Phase; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010994:Pleura / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
D017632:Asbestos, Serpentine; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D004247:DNA