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Iron and iron-related proteins in asbestosis.
Citation:
Ghio, Andy, E. Pavlisko, AND V. Roggli. Iron and iron-related proteins in asbestosis. Journal of Environmental Pathology, Toxicology, and Oncology. Begell House Incorporated, New York, NY, 34(4):277-85, (2015).
Impact/Purpose:
Asbestosis is a lung disease resulting from the inhalation of asbestos particles, marked by severe fibrosis and a high risk of mesothelioma (cancer of the pleura). We tested the postulate that iron homeostasis is altered among patients diagnosed to have asbestosis.
Description:
ABSTRACT: We tested the postulate that iron homeostasis is altered among patients diagnosed to have asbestosis. Lung tissue from six individuals diagnosed to have had asbestosis at autopsy was stained for iron, ferritin, divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1), and ferroportin 1 (FPN1). Slides from six individuals having pneumonectomy for lung cancer were employed as controls. Lung tissue from those patients with asbestosis demonstrated stainable iron while control lung tissue did not. Staining for this metal was observed predominantly in airway and alveolar macrophages. Expression of the iron-related proteins ferritin, DMT1, and FPN1 was elevated in lung tissue from the six asbestosis patients relative to controls. This increased expression of iron-transport and –storage proteins was evident in both airway and alveolar epithelial cells. Asbestos bodies were abundant in lung tissue from patients diagnosed to have had asbestosis. While staining for iron, ferruginous bodies did not demonstrate uptake of antibodies for ferritin, DMT1, and FPN1. We conclude that iron homeostasis is altered in lung disease among those diagnosed to have asbestosis with an accumulation of the metal and a modified expression of iron-related proteins being evident.
