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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
08:17
Generation of a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Model in Mice by Repeated Ozone Exposure
Published on: August 25, 2017
Oxygen radicals and asbestos-mediated disease
T R Quinlan1, J P Marsh, Y M Janssen
1Department of Pathology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington 05405.
Environmental Health Perspectives
|December 1, 1994
Summary
Asbestos exposure generates harmful reactive oxygen species, leading to lung disease. Antioxidant enzymes protect against these effects and may serve as biomarkers for asbestos-related inflammation.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Toxicology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Asbestos fibers induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) through surface iron reactions or cellular phagocytosis.
- ROS are implicated in the pathogenesis of asbestos-related lung diseases.
- Antioxidant scavengers show promise in mitigating asbestos-induced cytotoxicity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of antioxidant enzymes in protecting against asbestos-mediated oxidative stress.
- To explore the potential of antioxidant enzymes as biomarkers for asbestos-induced lung inflammation and disease.
Main Methods:
- In vitro and in vivo studies utilizing antioxidant scavengers.
- Assessment of gene induction, including ornithine decarboxylase, a marker for cell proliferation.
- Analysis of antioxidant enzyme expression in lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage cells.
Main Results:
- Antioxidant scavengers inhibited the cytotoxic effects of asbestos both in vitro and in vivo.
- Antioxidant enzymes ameliorated the induction of proliferation-related genes like ornithine decarboxylase.
- These findings suggest oxidants contribute to abnormal cell replication following asbestos exposure.
Conclusions:
- Antioxidant enzymes are crucial for lung defense against oxidative stress induced by asbestos.
- Gene expression of antioxidant enzymes may serve as a valuable biomarker for chronic inflammation and pulmonary disease post-asbestos inhalation.
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