Liposomes in silicosis investigations.

The effects of quartz and sodium metasilicate on liposomes were studied in order to understand the mechanism of silicosis. 8-Hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid was tested for its in situ silicosis-prevention capacity. Two types of liposomes--(A) those incorporating cholesterol and (B) those without cholesterol--were used. The tests consisted of measuring permeability changes caused by the above-mentioned chemicals. Permeabilities were found to depend on membrane composition. Tests on quartz action led us to the conclusion that liposomes of this composition did not simulate the erythrocytes very well. It was also observed that absence or presence of cholesterol and the mode of contact altered the effect of quartz. Silicate destabilized type A liposomes, but this was less than that caused by quartz. This was explained by the concentration of monosilicic acid that dissolves out from quartz and silicate. When quartz was pretreated with the preventive, the type A liposomes were stabilized, but a slight destabilizing effect was observed on type B. 8-Hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid augmented the destabilizing effect of silicate, whereas it decreased the hemolytic activity of uncoated quartz, indicating a preventive potential in in vivo.

Investigation and comparison of the electrochemical behavior of some organic and biological molecules at various conducting polymer electrodes.

Electrodes modified by the electrodepozition of conducting organic polymers such as poly(3-methylthiophene)(PMT), polypyrrole (PPY) and polyaniline (PAN) were used as chemical sensors for voltammetric analysis and flow injection detection of some organic and biological molecules. The electrochemical behaviors of catechol, ascorbic acid, hydroquinone, dopamine, epinephrine, acetaminophen and p-aminophenol were examined by differential pulse voltammetry. The electrochemical behavior of these molecules at different electrodes was compared and the effects on behavior of electrolyte type and its pH and the film thickness were systematically examined. The results showed that the proposed modified surface catalyzes the oxidation of these compounds. Electrocatalytic 'efficiency' decreases in order of poly-3-methylthiophene, polypyrrole and polyaniline. Voltammetric peak positions were affected by the nature of the electrolyte and its pH. Also, the effect of increasing film thickness was to observe increased peak heights. Polymer coated electrodes were also used in an amperometric detector for flow injection analysis of most of the these compounds. The responses of the polymer electrode were 5-15 times larger as compared with those of bare platinum. PMT showed improved performance as an amperometric detector for flow injection analysis systems over other types of polymer electrodes. Detection limits as low as 10(-8)-10(-9) M were achieved using the PMT, compared with 10(-6)-10(-8) M using platinum electrodes. In the flow injection analysis, with increasing molecular weight of analyte molecules was to observe decreased peak heights.

Purification and some properties of an oxydative inhibitor in rabbit reticulocyte lysates.

Protein synthesis in rabbit reticulocyte lysates in the presence of heme is inhibited by 50% by the addition of 4 mM GSSG (oxidized glutathione). The incubation of the rabbit reticulocyte lysate with 4 mM GSSG at 30 degrees C for 30 min will cause activation of an inhibitor of protein synthesis which could be purified from the lysates through a five-step procedure. The inhibitor results in a 70-80% inhibition after a 1 h incubation. The inhibitor consists of one polypeptide of 23 kDa apparent molecular weight and is 90% pure as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. However, in the presence of cAMP (10 mM) or GEF (guanine nucleotide exchange factor) (0.3 microgram), protein synthesis in the inhibited reticulocyte lysate will be already recovered.

An overview of the role of mineral solubility in silicosis and asbestosis.

Asbestosis and silicosis are fibrotic diseases initiated by the inhalation of silica-containing dusts, asbestos and quartz. There are various approaches for explaining the causes of these diseases. At present, our knowledge on the matter indicates that silicic acid dissolved from these minerals, contact between macrophages and minerals, highly reactive and oxidative species formed on the mineral surface, and lysosomal enzymes released upon engulfment of particulate mineral of appropriate size all contribute to various extents to the initiation of fibrosis. Among these mineral solubility seems to have a substantial contribution as a causative factor.

Secretion of fibronectin by mineral dust-derived alveolar macrophages and activated peritoneal macrophages.

The in vitro secretion of fibronectin by rat alveolar macrophages recovered following the intratracheal instillation of various mineral dusts was examined using a competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay (CELIA) method. Cells derived with the fibrogenic dusts DQ12 quartz and UICC crocidolite asbestos had elevated rates of fibronectin secretion when compared ith those derived from titanium dioxide or saline. The in vitro culture of alveolar macrophages with dusts did not lead to elevated rates of fibronectin secretion, suggesting that mechanisms other than the direct interaction between dusts and macrophages may be responsible for elevated rates of fibronectin secretion by cells exposed to fibrogenic dusts. This suggests that fibronectin deposition seen in pneumoconiotic lesions in immunohistochemical studies may in part have been derived from macrophages. Thioglycollate-induced activated mouse peritoneal macrophages secreted significantly less fibronectin than resident peritoneal macrophages, a finding contrasting with those of Tsukamoto et al. [7].

The use of liposomes in the investigation of mechanisms of asbestos damage.

Asbestos-induced cell damage is initiated by a reaction at the plasma membrane. The effect of chrysotile (which is more hemolytic and releases more silicic acid than other types of asbestos) on permeability changes of liposomes has been investigated. The destabilizing effect rises when the amount of chrysotile is increased. Silicon dioxide is one major constituent which could be a hemolytic agent, and a cause of damage. It also caused an increase of permeability of liposomes.

The effect of global ischemia and recirculation of rat brain on protein synthesis in vitro.

Transient cerebral ischemia causes long-lasting inhibition of protein synthesis despite recovery of energy metabolism. We investigated the question if this inhibition is due to the formation of a suppression factor which interferes with the function of the protein synthesizing machinery. For this purpose rats were submitted to 20 minutes four vessel-occlusion followed by recirculation times from 30 minutes to 7 days. Post-mitochondrial supernatant (PMS) from various brain regions was added to a self-contained, cell-free rabbit reticulocyte translational system, and the effect on in vitro protein synthesis was assessed by measuring 14C-leucine incorporation over a duration of 45 minutes. PMS prepared at the end of ischemia from hippocampus, striatum and cerebellum inhibited in vitro protein synthesis by 40%-60% but there was only a minor inhibition by PMS from cerebral cortex. During post-ischemic recirculation cortical PMS transiently induced inhibition of in vitro protein synthesis by 30% but this effect gradually disappeared within one week. The inhibition caused by PMS from hippocampus, striatum and cerebellum was not reversed during recirculation and still amounted to about 40% after 7 days. Inhibition of in vitro protein synthesis could be blocked by heating PMS to 100 degrees C, indicating that the suppressor factor is a protein. The comparison of the in vitro effect of postischemic PMS with previously described in vivo inhibition of protein synthesis demonstrates that the here observed suppressor factor is not able to explain the overall disturbance of protein synthesis in vivo.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)