Asbestos and Transfection

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the effects of asbestos and methods to study these effects. It also reviews the results of investigations on the effects of asbestos on cells. These investigations include studies in humans, laboratory rodents, and cell cultures. The studies in cell cultures have been especially important in the areas of cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, transforming activity, and mutagenicity of different varieties of asbestos. Asbestos is a family of fibrous silicate minerals. Asbestos can mediate transfection of cell cultures. The varieties of asbestos fall into two major groups: (1) the serpentine asbestos or chrysotile group and (2) the amphibole group. Most of the asbestos of commerce is chrysotile asbestos. A basic unit of structure in both of these groups is the tetrahedron composed of a central atom of silicon and an atom of oxygen at each of the four corners. Some of these oxygens can be shared by similar adjacent tetrahedra. Quantitative comparison of two asbestos varieties with six classical facilitators showed both asbestos varieties to be of intermediate rank in transfection facilitation.