Dual preventive benefits of iron elimination by desferal in asbestos-induced mesothelial carcinogenesis.

Asbestos-induced mesothelial carcinogenesis is currently a profound social issue due to its extremely long incubation period and high mortality rate. Therefore, procedures to prevent malignant mesothelioma in people already exposed to asbestos are important. In previous experiments, we established an asbestos-induced rat peritoneal mesothelioma model, which revealed that local iron overload is a major cause of pathogenesis and that the induced genetic alterations are similar to human counterparts. Furthermore, we showed that oral administration of deferasirox modified the histology from sarcomatoid to the more favorable epithelioid subtype. Here, we used i.p. administration of desferal to evaluate its effects on asbestos-induced peritoneal inflammation and iron deposition, as well as oxidative stress. Nitrilotriacetate was used to promote an iron-catalyzed Fenton reaction as a positive control. Desferal significantly decreased peritoneal fibrosis, iron deposition, and nuclear 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels in mesothelial cells, whereas nitrilotriacetate significantly increased all of them. Desferal was more effective in rat peritoneal mesothelial cells to counteract asbestos-induced cytotoxicity than in murine macrophages (RAW264.7). Furthermore, rat sarcomatoid mesothelioma cells were more dependent on iron for proliferation than rat peritoneal mesothelial cells. Because inflammogenicity of a fiber is proportionally associated with subsequent mesothelial carcinogenesis, iron elimination from the mesothelial environment can confer dual merits for preventing asbestos-induced mesothelial carcinogenesis by suppressing inflammation and mesothelial proliferation simultaneously.

[The modifying effect of long-term administration of ascorbic acid with drinking water on asbestos-induced pleural carcinogenesis in Wistar rats]. / Modifikatsiia plevral'nogo asbestovogo kantserogeneza u krys Vistar dlitel'nym vvedeniem s pit'evoi vodoi askorbinovoi kisloty.

Ascorbic acid administered with drinking water, in a concentration of 2.5%, together with sucrose (1%) was found to significantly inhibit the development of mesothelial and pleural tumors induced in Wistar rats by asbestos treatment. Said agents, however, failed to influence spontaneous carcinogenesis.