Vladimir A. Furalyov

The report is devoted to the investigation of cytotoxic action of macrophages and asbestos on transformed mesothelium and mesothelioma cells, the characterization of its specificity, and the nature of the factors mediating it. The viability of different cells after asbestos exposure was studied in co‐culture with macrophages. Mesothelioma cell lines obtained from tumors developed in vivo were the most sensitive to the cytotoxic action of macrophages and asbestos. Mesothelium cells of late passages and ras‐transformed cell lines IAR2 and Rat1 were somewhat less sensitive, whereas untransformed cells of IAR2 and Rat1 lines and early passage mesothelium were low sensitive to that cytotoxic action. In experiments performed on Petri dishes with inserts that allowed treatment with asbestos of only one of two cell populations, it was shown that asbestos treatment of mesothelioma cells was necessary and sufficient for manifestation of cytotoxic effect (in the absence of macrophages asbestos caused very low cytotoxicity). The medium conditioned by macrophages was not cytototoxic by itself but it strongly enhanced cytotoxic action of asbestos on transformed mesothelium and mesothelioma cells but not on normal mesothelial cells and IAR2 and Rat1 cells (both normal and ras‐transformed). The specificity of this augmenting effect for different toxicants was also investigated. It was shown that medium conditioned by macrophages enhanced cytotoxicity of hydrogen peroxide and sodium azide but not that of nonfibrous silicon dioxide, ethylmethanesulfonate, and sodium dodecylsulfate. The factor mediating this effect is thermolabile, non‐dialyzable and protease‐sensitive. Its m.w. is approximately 3–5 kD. Teratogenesis Carcinog. Mutagen. Suppl. 1:207–214, 2003.