Acute and Subchronic Effects of Short and Long Asbestos and Wollastonite Fibres in the Lung of Rats
Marta Hurbánková1, Alzbeta Kaiglová1, Petra Gergelová2, and Ladislava Wsólová1
1 Institute of Preventive and Clinical Medicine, Research Base of the Slovak Medical University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
2 Faculty of Health and Social Care, Trnava University, Trnava, Slovak Republic
Corresponding author: Marta Hurbánková, PhD.
Institute of Preventive and Clinical Medicine
Research Base of the Slovak Medical University
Limbová 12
83303 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Telephone: + 421 2 59 36 94 03
Fax number: + 421 2 54 77 10 94
E-mail: marta.hurbankova@szu.sk
CEJOEM 2004, Vol.10. No.2.: 127–138
Key words: Asbestos, wollastonite, size of fibres, BAL-parameters, cytokines
Abstract: The present study was designed to gain better understanding of the mechanisms of development of lung disease induced by exposure to industrial
mineral fibrous dusts. Male Wistar rats were exposed to short and long amosite and wollastonite fibres. Twenty-four hours and 3 months after
intratracheal instillation (4 mg of fibres/animal), some bronchoalveolar lavage parameters (number of leukocytes/ml BAL, number of alveolar
macrophages/ml BAL, phagocytic activity and viability of alveolar macrophages, percentage of granulocytes, lactate dehydrogenase, acid
phosphatase) including cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ were investigated and compared to the control groups.
The exposed groups were also compared with one another. In the acute phase, the long fibres significantly affected more parameters studied than the
short ones, however, the efficacy of wollastonite fibres was less than that of amosite fibres. In the subchronic phase, long amosite fibres
continued to be effective, while neither of the wollastonite samples changed any of these parameters in this phase. Higher bioreactivity was
associated with greater length of the fibres.
Received: 18 June 2004
Accepted: 21 September 2004