[Asbestos-stimulated changes in nitric oxide and iron metabolism in rats]

Under intratracheal asbestos fibers installation it has been investigated NO synthesis in the lung and liver tissues of Wistar rats by EPR method. Asbestos A6-45, sifted through the sieve with size 0.1 mm, has been administrated in a dose of 5 mg/kg. To evaluate the NO synthesis EPR and NO-trap methods have been used. The amplitude of EPR signal "trap-NO" in the lung samples was 12, 16 and 14 times greater than in controls on the 3th, 6th and 10th days after asbestos installation and was corresponding to NO rate of about 2 mkmol/(g x h). In the liver samples of asbestos-stimulated animals the NO level contained in the non-heme iron nitrosyl complexes was about 2 mkmol/g. Thus, the asbestos fibers stimulate NO synthesis not only in the lung tissue, but also in other organs. The obtained data shows that under NO hyperproduction certain changes in iron metabolism take place, such as: the decrease of transferrin iron and the accumulation of ferric iron not bound with transferrin. The accumulation of ferric iron not shielded by proteins is one of the oxidative stress triggers.