[Corpuscular mutagenesis and its prevention]

The carcinogenic and mutagenic activity of dust containing chrysotile-asbestos and zeolites, as well as the role of active oxygen species in their cytotoxic and mutagenic actions are discussed. Superoxide dismutase (50 mg/ml) was demonstrated to prevent the mutagenic effects of chrysotile-asbestos and latex, catalase (20 mg/ml) to prevent the same of zeolites in experiments on cultured human whole blood. The intraperitoneal administration of dusts of chrysotile-asbestos and zeolites in a dose of 50 mg/kg to C57B1/6 mice was found to elevate the count of cells with chromosomal aberrations in the peritoneal liquid and bone marrow cells of mice, which was dependent on dust exposure time. It was revealed that ascorbic acid, rutin, chemically modified flavonoid of Scutellaria Baicalensis Georgy, drugs such as bemitil and thomersol in the broad range of concentrations (10(-7)-10(-3) M) decreased or completely reduced the clustogenic action of zeolites and chrysotile-asbestos on cultured human whole blood. The ability of bemitil (1.8-19 mg/kg) rather than the others to prevent the mutagenic effect of chrysotile-asbestos was confirmed by the method of recording chromosomal aberrations in the cells of peritoneal liquid and bone marrow in mice. The findings suggest that the mutagenic effects of the corpuscular xenobiotics under study are mediated by active oxygen species and that the use of the models in vitro and in vivo is adequate for investigations into corpuscular mutagenesis. Based on their own data and literature data, the authors have defined possible lines of further research of corpuscular mutagenesis.