In vitro cyto- and geno-toxicity of asbestiform erionite from New Zealand.

This work is an in vitro toxicity study of two asbestiform erionites from Kaipara and Gawler Downs in New Zealand. This study is the first, to the knowledge of the authors, to investigate the mechanisms that trigger adverse effects leading to carcinogenicity from New Zealand erionites. The effects induced by the erionite fibres from New Zealand were compared with those produced by positive (crocidolite) and negative (wollastonite) standards, and other erionite fibres described in the literature. The cytotoxicity/genotoxicity/inflammatory potential was determined by: (i) analysis of the cytotoxic potential by MTT tests on human cell lines mimicking primary cells making direct contact with fibres in the lungs, combined with apoptosis tests and cell membrane damage by fluorescence microscopy analyses; (ii) analysis of the genotoxic potential by quantification of DNA damage measuring double strand break foci by γ-H2AX nuclear staining in confocal microscopy analyses; (iii) analyses of the acute (24-72h) and early-chronic (7d) inflammatory effect by gene expression analyses of several cytokines, as well as of fibrotic and Epithelial to Mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers. The intensity of cell responses to these erionites are comparable to that of standard carcinogenic crocidolite, indicating that the two erionite fibres exhibit a significant acute toxic potential, with a particular alarming effect from the Gawler Downs sample from South Island. Our results confirm that the investigated erionites from New Zealand may represent an environmental hazard. However, further investigation is required to determine potential environmental exposure pathways by which erionite may become airborne and assess any environmental risks that may arise.