[Biological effects of mineral fibers on lymphocytes in vitro. Comparative studies of asbestos and glass fibers].

The biological effects of asbestos and glass fibers on lymphocytes in vitro were investigated. Blastoid transformation and beta 2 microglobulin production of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) induced by phytohemagglutinin were inhibited by Canadian chrysotile B (Standard sample of the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer; UICC standard sample) but it was not the case for crocidolite (UICC standard sample) and small and large glass fibers (John Manville, Canada). Cytotoxic activities of natural killer and killer cells of PBL were investigated using K562 cells and Chang liver cells as target cells respectively. Chrysotile inhibited the both activities but crocidolite and two kind of glass fibers not. In regard to release of lactic dehydrogenase and beta-glucuronidase from mouse peritoneal macrophages exposed to mineral fibers, chrysotile showed more effective reaction compared to crocidolite and amosite (UICC standard sample), on the other hand large glass fiber showed the similar reaction to chrysotile but small glass fiber and milled amosite did not induce any more enzymatic release than the control. In addition to chemical compositions of mineral fibers, the morphological characteristics were also discussed in relation to their biological effects.